Just Like Old Times
by Jess13
Summary: A disaster perpetrated by a renegade Time Lord finds the Doctor being forced to work with his past selves to resolve it. The Doctors may be a bit in over their heads with this one, but the help of a certain companion surely can't hurt. Takes place during (and is a slight reworking of) The Three Doctors. Third story in the Time With a Twist of Tartan series. Now complete!
1. Prologue

Just Like Old Times

Rating: T

Summary: A disaster perpetrated by a renegade Time Lord finds the Doctor being forced to work with his past selves to resolve it. This Time Lord has not only placed his very existence in jeopardy, but also Time itself. The Doctors may be a bit in over their heads with this one, but the help of a certain companion surely can't hurt. Takes place during (and is a slight reworking of) **The Three Doctors**. Third story in the **Time With a Twist of Tartan** series.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Angst, Alternate Universe, Fluff, Humor

Characters: Jamie McCrimmon, 1st Doctor, 2nd Doctor, 3rd Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Sergeant Benton, Jo Grant

Pairings: Jamie/OFC

Disclaimer: Not my characters, except for Kathryn. This story is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: I'd read that Jamie was originally supposed to appear in **The Three Doctors** , but Frazer Hines couldn't make it as he was busy with Emmerdale Farm at the time. I'd often wondered how Jamie would fit into the story. I thought it would be fun to explore that within the universe I'd set up in this series.

Prologue

 _22 January 1973_

Sighing, Doctor Tyler piloted his Land Rover over the bridge to the entrance of the Minsbridge Wild Life Sanctuary. He'd just been notified by a Mrs. Ollis that the payload from the weather balloon had landed. Of course it was important he get down there straight away. This device was pertinent to his research and if anyone had toyed with it … Well, he didn't want to think of the consequences. Nothing deadly, of course. But if it had been tampered with, it'd probably set him back quite a bit. Plus, it still wasn't something for public consumption …

Coming to a stop at the entrance, he turned off the ignition and hopped out of the vehicle. A middle-aged woman in a dark gray dress and lighter-colored cardigan stepped up to meet him.

"Doctor Tyler, is it?"

Tyler nodded. "Sorry to be a trouble. Thanks very much for calling."

"Oh, no trouble at all. Arthur's keeping an eye on it down by the lake. He hasn't touched it." Tyler inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "It's not chemicals, is it? Only the birds, you see."

"No, you'll be all right," he reassured her. "Nothing to worry about."

"Oh, good," she replied with a slight smile. She then gestured across to the lake where he could faintly make out a balding man with a mass of curly, ginger hair kneeling down, appearing to examine the box.

Giving Mrs. Ollis a quick nod, Tyler hopped back inside the Land Rover, driving around the lake towards the man.

He had just reached the area when something made him do a double take. "What the …?" He was sure he'd seen Ollis just a second ago, and he was now gone. That in itself might not be so odd if the man's disappearance hadn't been preceded by a strange, bright flash of white light, almost like lightning.

Recovering slightly, Tyler slowed to a stop and parked the Land Rover along the edge of the grassy border. Exiting, he examined the area in search of the man.

"Mister Ollis!"

No answer.

Tyler combed the area backwards and forwards, but the man was nowhere to be seen. He'd even lingered a few minutes, wondering if the man had taken off for some reason and was coming right back. It still didn't make sense, though. He'd just been there, right in front of his eyes. And then there was that bright flash of light. It was as if the light somehow … zapped him away. Tyler couldn't help rolling his eyes and scoffing. The whole thing seemed so far-fetched, or at least it should to someone such as himself.

Still, the fact remained the man was missing. He needed help in figuring out what was going on. Fortunately, he knew of one group that could possibly help.

Finally collecting the box, he returned to his Land Rover and got on the radio.

"Put me through to UNIT HQ, will you please?"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hearing the sound of footsteps just behind him, Jame turned to find Jo bringing a tray of drinks into the lab. Gladly accepting a cup of tea he nodded, giving her a little smile. Truth be told, he was thankful for the distraction. Only moments earlier, he'd been chatting with the Doctor about how he and Kathryn had spent the past weekend. Suddenly the Brigadier had barged in with this Doctor Tyler chap who was reporting some strange happenings at this particular place … some sort of park, it sounded like. He couldn't be totally sure as he hadn't been following the conversation too closely.

From what the man had said, some laddie had found a balloon with a parcel attached to it and had suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. Strange enough, but Jamie wished the man would just get to the point. He'd rambled on about it for longer than he probably should have. He was obviously shaken and frustrated, but he'd offhandedly mentioned something about evidence, and Jamie was curious to see it.

"So there you are," Tyler stated, seemingly arriving at the end of his story. "Mrs. Ollis says her husband's down there. I see him wave, get there and there he is, gone. So I get in touch with you lot."

Jamie couldn't help thinking it would have been easier if he'd just kept his story to that.

The Brigadier nodded thoughtfully. "Well, quite right, too. That's what we're here for, eh, Doctor?"

"Yes, of course," the Doctor replied, almost absently. He seemed deep in thought and Jamie wondered what he was thinking.

His gaze then settled upon the box Tyler had brought in. "What's this machine for?" he asked him.

"Cosmic Ray Research, young man."

"Oh," Jamie said quietly, nodding.

"And you still use balloons?" Jo asked.

"That's right. We may not be NASA, but we get the results. Inside that is the most sophisticated Cosmic Ray Monitoring device between here and Cape Kennedy. You see, I was going to get in touch with you people anyway, even before this business."

"Oh?" The Brigadier suddenly piped up, his eyebrows raised. "And why was that?"

Tyler turned to address the Doctor. "Can you hand me that briefcase, please?"

Nodding, the Doctor handed the man's briefcase to him. Tyler removed some papers before setting the briefcase back down.

"We've been getting some pretty funny results on these latest tests." He held up an x-ray film and appeared to be scrutinizing it closely. "Now, this is the first one... Hm ... Ah, this is normal." He handed it to the Doctor before picking up another film and studying it. "Ah! Now then. This is why I'm here. Last week's test. Now, look at this." Once again, he handed it to the Doctor.

The Doctor accepted it with a nod. "Thank you." Jamie watched his expression change to a startled frown as he scanned the film. "Good grief."

"Yeah. Nobody knows what to make of it. Well, they've all seen it. Yanks and the other lot."

Furrowing his brow in curiosity, Jamie wondered what was so interesting about this picture. From what he could see over the Doctor's shoulder, it didn't look much like anything. It was different from what he saw in the first picture but nothing remarkable, at least in his opinion. That obviously wasn't worth very much to these scientists, though, so he'd best keep out of it and let them figure it out. Still, he hoped there was something interesting among all this 'evidence' he'd brought.

He watched Tyler fumble through his briefcase some more. "Now, here somewhere … oh, yes." He'd finally grabbed a large printout of something and scanned it. "Now this is what really put the tin hat on it. From that deep space monitor Houston put up." He turned to the Brigadier, showing it to him. "Just take a look at those readings."

"Er, the Doctor's the man you ..."

Jamie felt his lips tug into an amused grin as he witnessed the Brigadier's uncomfortable reaction. Obviously this stuff was completely foreign to him and Jamie couldn't help empathizing. He'd felt the same way whenever 'his' Doctor or Zoe acted this way with him.

Luckily, Tyler seemed to pick up on it. "Oh, I see." Giving a small, apologetic nod, he then directed his attention to the Doctor, handing the printout to him.

"Thank you." The Time Lord began thumbing through the pages, his brow furrowing as he studied the information. "Well, it's traveling faster than light."

"Yes, and it can't, can it? I don't know what to make of it," Tyler replied. "It's come all that way, through millions of star systems. It must have been directed, and it must have been directed at us. Now, why?"

"Why indeed, Professor Tyler. Why indeed."

Jamie nodded thoughtfully. He admitted it was an interesting situation. Truth be told, it was a welcome diversion from the rather slow and boring state of things at UNIT HQ these days. The last notable thing that had happened was several months ago when the Doctor and Jo ended up in Atlantis to stop the Master from messing with Time. After all the Doctor and Jo had told him, Jamie was glad he hadn't been along for the ride. The Master sounded like a formidable chap and given the history he seemed to have with the Doctor, Jamie couldn't help being reminded of that alien they dealt with during the War Games: that 'War Chief' who ended up being a Time Lord like the Doctor.

The Brigadier's voice suddenly cut into his thoughts. "Doctor, is there anything I can do?"

"Mm, yes. Pass me a silicon rod, will you?"

The Brigadier did so, passing the rod to Tyler, who passed it to Jo. Jo then handed it to Jamie and, after briefly rolling it around in his hand in curiosity, handed it to the Doctor. Jamie wondered for a brief moment what he was planning to do with it until he found the Doctor simply stirring his cup of tea with it. The sound of the Brigadier sighing caused Jamie to duck his head so they wouldn't see his amused smirk.

"What I meant was, is there anything UNIT can do about this … 'space lightning' business?" the Brigadier asked tiredly.

The Doctor stopped and looked up. "Lightning? Yes, I suppose it could look like lightning, only it isn't. No, if there were such a thing I would say it was compressed light. A sort of controlled superlucent emission."

"A what?" Again, it was times like this when Jamie empathized with the Brigadier.

"He means it travels faster than light," Jo supplied helpfully.

"Thank you, Miss Grant," the Brigadier deadpanned.

"Aye," Jamie added softly, nodding gratefully in Jo's direction. Just before turning back towards the Doctor, he found her giving him a knowing smile.

"Tell me, Professor. Is this machine of yours functioning properly?" the Doctor asked.

Tyler nodded. "Yes, far as I can tell. I haven't developed that latest plate yet, of course."

"Then I suggest you do so immediately and let me know the result of your findings." The Doctor turned away from the table and gestured to Jo to join him. "Jo, you and I are going to take a look at the scene of the crime."

"Right," Jo replied with a nod.

Jamie quickly joined them. "Ye don' have tae do that," he said, laying a hand on Jo's shoulder. "I'll go."

"Oh, no, that's quite all right, Jamie," the Doctor broke in. "You stay back here with the Brigadier. We shant be long."

"But Doctor –"

"Jamie, _no_. You stay here," the Doctor insisted, his voice quiet but adamant.

Jamie regarded him in surprise. His sounded as calm as usual but there was some distress etched across his features. Why was he so insistent that Jamie stay back here? What harm could there be in his joining the Doctor to help him figure this out?

"Jamie, it's fine," Jo suddenly broke in. "I'm in need of some fresh air anyway. Been a bit too stuffy for my liking." She smiled.

"Och," Jamie sighed in frustration. "All right." He managed a weak smile in return. "Jus' be careful out there, eh? Don' get zapped away by any weird 'space lightnin'."

Chuckling lightly, the Doctor reached over to pat his shoulder. "Don't worry, my lad." He then turned to Tyler. "I think you'll find everything you need here."

"Oh, right. Er … thanks," Tyler replied in apparent distraction, seemingly focused on the box in front of him.

Jamie had barely heard him as his gaze was still on the retreating forms of the Doctor and Jo. His frustration over the Doctor not allowing Jamie to join him was still gnawing at him. Why couldn't Jo have stayed back here at HQ? Perhaps he was being a bit unfair. He certainly didn't want there to be any competition between them, but he had been feeling a bit useless lately.

Turning, he noticed the Brigadier had remained in the room and was watching Tyler make his way over to the lab equipment with an x-ray plate. Jamie met the Brigadier's gaze, his expression suggesting he was completely in the dark as to what Tyler was doing. Jamie simply shook his head and shrugged; again, he was in good company.

Tyler seemed to have eyes in back of his head. "Oh, I can manage now, thank you."

The Brigadier started a bit, obviously not expecting this. He looked about the room awkwardly. "Well. I'm delighted to hear it. Make yourself at home. We're only supposed to be a top secret security establishment. Liberty Hall, Doctor Tyler. Liberty Hall."

Tyler had flashed a quick smile as the Brigadier left the room. Jamie watched him leave and decided he'd hang back, just in case. "Ye sure yer all right?"

Nodding, Tyler gave him a thin smile. Yes, I'm quite fine."

Jamie returned his smile and nodded. However, he still thought it was a good idea to stay in case the man needed any kind of assistance. Jamie wasn't sure what kind he could provide with all this scientific stuff going way over his head, but if there were any general mishaps it would be best to have someone in the room. Taking a few steps back, Jamie remained out of the way, watching Tyler work.

The scientist was apparently waiting for an image to be developed and had removed it from the machine. Jamie couldn't see much of it from his vantage, but Tyler's perplexed expression led him to believe it was something out of the ordinary.

"That shouldn't happen," he muttered just before sticking the image onto a light box. Gazing upon it, his expression grew more concerned. "That _definitely_ shouldn't happen."

"What?" Jamie asked, his interest piqued. Seemingly unaware he'd still been in the room, Tyler turned for a quick moment to regard him and gave a quick shake of his head. Approaching gingerly, Jamie caught a glimpse of the image over Tyler's shoulder. At first it appeared to be just another random bright blob, but as Jamie neared it and looked closer, he found something shocking: a face contorted in fear. Jamie felt his brow furrow as he stared at the image incredulously. What on Earth was going on here?

He'd barely noticed that Tyler had set to work again, taking apart the box. A loud crackling sound that seemed to be coming from the box – or somewhere in its vicinity – pierced the room.

Jamie's jaw dropped as the sound grew louder. "What is that? Get back!" he exclaimed. He'd jumped back and had reached out to Tyler …

 _CRACK!_ A huge, white flash that looked like lightning appeared in a split second, lighting up the room and then vanished.

Jamie stared, slack-jawed at the space which had contained both the box and Doctor Tyler a mere second ago. Now only the box remained. It was as though the lightning had taken Tyler with it to wherever it'd disappeared.

Before he could even begin to recover, a sound akin to static on a radio started emanating from the box. He watched as a weird red-and-blue colored blob began creeping out of the box and crawling onto the bench.

Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished.

As if whatever had already happened wasn't strange enough.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jamie stared, transfixed at the spot where Doctor Tyler had just disappeared. Suddenly hearing footsteps, he took his eyes off it for a quick moment and spotted the Brigadier returning with some files in his hand.

"Doctor Tyler, I thought these reports might interest …" The older man suddenly stopped, peering around the room. "Doctor Tyler?" He then finally took notice of Jamie. "McCrimmon, what are you doing? Where did Doctor Tyler go?"

Jamie gazed at him desperately, wanting to tell him what happened but still too shocked to find the words. "Um, I don' think you'll believe me."

The Brigadier quirked an eyebrow at him. "Out with it, man. Where did he go?"

Still unable to speak, Jamie merely looked at him and shook his head. How on Earth would he even begin?

With an impatient sigh, the Brigadier stuck his head out the doorway and into the corridor. "Doctor Tyler!"

"He disappeared!" Jamie blurted, finally able to shake himself out of his shocked state.

"Well, that much is obvious," the Brigadier retorted. Before Jamie could even attempt to explain, he witnessed Sergeant Benton approaching.

"Sir, Doctor Tyler is missing."

"Yes, thank you, Sergeant, we're aware of that. He's got to be somewhere here in HQ. I order you to find him and bring him here at once."

Benton seemed ready to snap out a salute when Jamie decided it was a good time to speak up. "No, I mean he jus' disappeared! This … flash thing came out of nowhere an' swallowed him up!"

"McCrimmon, please. This is no time for games."

"Och, it's no' a game! I saw it happen!" Jamie insisted desperately. "It was just like what he said happened tae that Mister Ollis! An' then I heard this strange noise, an' this weird red an' black … thing jus' came out of the box an' onto the bench there. I didnae see where it'd gone but it looked as though it just disappeared as well." He gazed nervously at the Brigadier. "Honest."

"I can't see why he would lie, Sir," Sergeant Benton said.

"Mm." The Brigadier gazed at his feet for a moment, appearing at a total loss to explain what was going on. "Well, check anyway, will you?"

"Yes, Sir," Benton replied before leaving the room. Jamie then caught Sergeant Osgood hurriedly approaching. "Mister McCrimmon? You have a phone call."

Jamie shook himself out of his daze and followed him down the corridor. "A phone call? Fer me?"

"Yes, it's Miss Drummond," Osgood replied as they neared the office where the telephone receiver sat waiting off its cradle. Gesturing to it, Osgood nodded and left the room.

Kathryn. That certainly ripped Jamie out of his daze. He was still quite shaken by the afternoon's events and welcomed any distraction. Especially from her. He smiled as he picked up the receiver. "Hello there," he greeted her. The telltale weariness in his voice made him wince.

Kathryn had obviously picked up on it as well. "You all right?" she asked.

Jamie sighed heavily. "Aye. It's jus' that … Ye wouldnae believe what's been happening here."

"What? Why? Is anything wrong?" Her voice rose slightly in apparent fear.

"Well ...Ye see, this man Doctor Tyler arrived tae tell us aboot a box he had. This other chappie had found it an' had jus' disappeared outta nowhere. Doctor Tyler was tryin' tae find out what was goin' on an' I saw him jus' disappear as well. This … flash o' lightnin' showed up an' he disappeared. Then I saw this weird shape, this red an' black thing come out of the box an' it went off somewhere. Even the Brigadier has no idea what's goin' on."

There was a pause, as if she were digesting all of this. "So, this lightning just made that man disappear? Oh, Jamie, please be careful."

"I will, lass. I promise."

There was another pause and he could hear her sighing on the other end. "All right. I just worry about you, that's all."

"Aye, I know. But no need tae worry. I'll be all right." Suddenly picking up the sound of commotion further down the corridor and spying the Doctor and Jo, he decided it was a good idea to get off the line. "Look, somethin's goin' on. I've got tae go. I'll see ye later, aye?"

"Aye," she replied, a smile evident in her tone. "I love you."

Jamie's lips immediately tugged into a fond smile. "An' I love you," he replied just before hanging up the phone. He rushed to catch up to Jo and the Doctor.

"Doctor, what's happening?" he asked.

Failing an answer, he followed them to the lab where the Brigadier stood, still appearing troubled. Jamie was about to ask the Doctor again what had happened when Sergeant Benton returned.

"Sorry, Sir, there's no sign of him. We've searched the entire grounds and buildings. He's just disappeared."

'I could've told ye that,' Jamie muttered to himself.

"Oh, and there was an explosion in the garage, Sir," Benton continued.

"Explosion? I heard nothing."

"No, you wouldn't, Brigadier," the Doctor suddenly cut in. He finally revealed there had been a flash outside. "A flash, but not an explosion. It was a release of kinetic energy," he explained.

"One of Bessie's gadgets misfire?" the Brigadier questioned.

"No, it's far more serious than that, Brigadier," Jo piped up.

The Brigadier ordered Benton to check, with the Doctor insisting he not go anywhere near Bessie for the moment. Instead he'd suggested putting a guard on the drains.

'Far more serious'? What on Earth had happened? Jamie merely stood, silently taking all this in as the Brigadier informed the Doctor about what had happened in their absence. Apparently, Mrs. Ollis had phoned and said her husband hadn't returned.

"We're cooperating with the local police, but we've still got fifteen hundred acres to cover," the Brigadier finished.

The Doctor nodded and, crossing the room, picked up the plate on which that strange image appeared. "Well, you shouldn't bother looking for him, Brigadier. I think you'll find that this is Mister Ollis," he said, gesturing to the image.

"Is this the plate that Tyler was developing when we left?"

"Yes, that's right," the Doctor replied.

"When I came back with these satellite reports, Tyler had disappeared and this box was open as it is now."

Jamie nodded. "Aye, an' I saw him disappear!"

The Doctor walked past him to grab one of his scientific contraptions … 'Geiger counter' Jamie believed he'd called it. He approached Tyler's box with the instrument, waving it in the space above it. "Nothing's been moved?"

"Nothing," the Brigadier confirmed. He then gestured to the papers he was holding. "These are tracking reports and assessments from just about every country in the world." He handed them to the Doctor, who nodded.

"Well, it looks as if Tyler was right. That light beam – or whatever it is – seems to have scanned the Earth like a searchlight and picked on us."

Jamie felt his sympathetic smile returning as he caught the Brigadier's weary expression. "Since UNIT is now in charge of this investigation, Doctor, it would be helpful for you to be a little more forthcoming. All we've got now are the strange disappearances of Ollis and Tyler, plus the incident in the garage."

"Well, you can add one more strange disappearance, Brigadier," the Doctor supplied, a grim expression on his face. "Bessie is now gone."

"What?"

"As Jo and I returned, we found an oddly shaped, bright, red and black powerful organism thing coming out of the drain. It grew before our eyes and threatened to swallow up Bessie. A bright flash then appeared and she was gone."

Jamie's eyes widened. "Aye, that's what I saw!" he Doctor stared at Jamie, appearing nonplussed. "You mean you saw a shape like that, growing larger as if to swallow up the whole room?"

Jamie gazed at him quizzically, cocking his head to one side. "Well, no, no' like that. It was a wee thing, just formed out of nowhere after Doctor Tyler disappeared. It started crawlin' on top of the bench but I didnae see where it'd gone." He shook his head in disbelief. "So, yer sayin' that wee thing ate Bessie?"

"Once again, Jamie, that 'wee thing' you saw grew out of control in front of us! It spread itself over Bessie and after a flash of light … she was gone."

Noticing the Doctor's distraught expression, Jamie eyed him contritely. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I don' think she's gone fer good, though. We'll get her back. I'm just glad it didnae attack ye or Jo."

The Doctor nodded. "Yes. It's got a powerful hunting instinct."

"Yes, and it was hunting you," Jo added. She then turned to Jamie. "Jamie, you saw it first in here?"

"Aye."

"It could have hunted you!"

"But it didn't, did it?" the Doctor interjected. "You saw it disappear quickly and it then came out after us … more specifically, me."

The Brigadier quirked an eyebrow. "You mean to tell me this whole thing has been arranged for your benefit?"

"Yes. As soon as it saw me, it ignored me," Jo confirmed.

"What about Ollis and Tyler?"

"I believe it got confused, perhaps mistaken identity of some sort or its instructions weren't getting through," the Doctor mused. "Ollis was the first mistake. With Tyler, it made its second mistake in this lab, where I work."

"Then why did it take Tyler but not Jamie?" Jo asked.

"Er, well, he was closer to the box than I was," Jamie spoke up. "I'd jumped back an' reached out tae grab him but it was too late."

The Doctor nodded, seemingly taking in this information. "Third mistake was Bessie when we were inside her. I believe the beam of light and this organism are connected somehow."

"Eh?" Jamie contorted his face in confusion.

"I believe the beam was the method it used to get here," the Doctor concluded.

Jamie nodded. He still couldn't make heads or tails out of this, but he trusted the Doctor knew what he was doing.

"Well, however it got here, we can conclude this thing is hostile," the Brigadier said. "What's more it's still here, so how do we find it?"

"If we wait around here long enough, it'll find us," the Doctor replied.

"Mebbe there's some way we can lure it to us?" Jamie offered. "Somethin' we could use as bait tae make it think it's got ye? I could – "

"No, Jamie," the Doctor interrupted hastily. "There's no guarantee something like this could work."

He seemed about to say more when a UNIT soldier ran inside, frantically urging Sergeant Benton to come outside. As the Sergeant left, the Doctor, Jo, and the Brigadier rushed over to the window, Jamie joining them.

The sight outside HQ was alarming to say the least, not to mention puzzling. Some large, strange-looking creatures equipped with weapons were doing battle with the UNIT guards. They were the ugliest looking creatures Jamie had seen in a long time. They looked like large snowmen with red, bubble-like shapes covering their bodies.

"What are those creatures? Where did they come from?" The Brigadier asked.

"Obviously from the same place as that organism thing. Most likely its reinforcements," the Doctor replied.

"Och, they look _terrible_!" Jamie exclaimed, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

The Doctor uttered a brief chuckle. "Perhaps to you they look terrible, my lad, but to them they are completely normal."

"Aye, well, then, their idea of 'normal' is completely daft."

He saw an amused grin briefly flit across the Doctor's face before his serious, concerned expression returned. The UNIT soldiers had quite a fight on their hands.

"Their grasp of military tactics is very good," the Brigadier remarked.

"Well, let's hope Sergeant Benton's are even better," Jo added.

Jamie nodded grimly.

The Brigadier's radio suddenly crackled to life. "Brigadier, do you read me? Over."

"What's the situation, Benton? Over."

"We're under attack from all sides. Weapons are useless. Nothing seems to touch them. Over."

"Get the men out, Benton. Complete evacuation, then report to me in the laboratory. Is that clear? Over."

Jamie bit his lip worriedly. He needed to do something to help them. At least it would make him feel more useful. "Look, they need some more help. I'm gannae go out there an'-"

He rushed to leave the room when the Doctor suddenly held out a hand to stop him. "Jamie, no. You are staying right here."

"But Doctor, they're gettin' killed out there! Lemme go!" he insisted, struggling against the Doctor's grip. Jamie caught him giving a quick nod to the Brigadier, who also gripped him. Unable to break free, Jamie stopped struggling and they'd released him, causing him to utter a frustrated sigh.

"I'd better see what's happening. You stay here, Doctor," the Brigadier said.

"Not much point in my going anywhere else, is there?" the Doctor remarked dryly to the space once occupied by the Brigadier. Jamie empathized with him, at least on that point.

"Why wouldn't ye let me go out there an' help them?"

"What could you have done, Jamie?" the Doctor asked, his voice a touch incredulous. "They were outnumbered and being attacked on all sides, not to mention their weapons useless against those creatures. There's very little you could have done to make a difference!"

"Could I no' have created a distraction tae drive them away?"

"No, I highly doubt that."

Jamie finally conceded with a shrug. Perhaps the Doctor was right, but the vehemence in his reaction still surprised him. It was if he wanted to ensure Jamie was out of harm's way. Jamie had come to expect that ever since the Drix situation over a year ago and he appreciated the sentiment, but technically he wasn't any safer in here than outside. After all, that black and red organism thing was still prowling around.

"I wonder why that thing is here, why it's after ye in the first place," he muttered out loud.

"I don't know," the Doctor replied softly. "It seems a personal thing, doesn't it? Revenge, perhaps."

"But what for?" Jo asked.

"That I'm not sure of. Yet, anyway." He appeared in deep thought for a moment before turning to Jo. "Jo, I think you ought to get out of here."

Jo shook her head. "No, not a chance."

"You too, Jamie. Go back home, or go to Kathryn. Anywhere but here."

"Eh? No, Doctor. I'm stayin' here with you," Jamie insisted.

"Don't argue with me, just do as I say," the Doctor retorted hotly. He then sighed heavily, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "Look, it's me they're after. They won't harm either of you," he said, obviously referring to the creatures outside.

"Well, I'll just have to risk it, won't I?" Jo challenged him.

"Aye. Me too," Jamie agreed, folding his arms over his chest. There was no way he was leaving.

Before the Doctor could react, Benton had climbed inside through the window. "Ah, Sergeant Benton, just the man I wanted to see. Will you please take Miss Grant and Jamie with you. Even if you have to carry them."

Benton looked at him, slightly bemused. "Sorry, Doc, but my orders are to report to the Brigadier. Speaking on that, have you seen him?"

"Listen, Sergeant, I –"

He was effectively cut off by a bright flash which suddenly lit up the room. Jamie squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face. The flash lasted for all of three seconds and when he reopened his eyes the doors and part of the laboratory wall were gone. The black and red organism suddenly made its presence known just outside the lab.

"Into the TARDIS! Quickly!" the Doctor ordered them.

Not saying a word, Jamie nodded and rushed with the others toward the TARDIS. Once there, he helped Jo inside as Sergeant Benton quickly shut the door behind them.

"Right, force field on," the Doctor blurted, already fumbling with the controls on the console.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Jamie blinked as he gazed around the console room. It seemed the Doctor had remodeled it since he'd been inside it last. Jamie couldn't decide whether he liked it or not, but there were now more important things to worry about.

He turned to see Sergeant Benton gazing at the room in awe. Jamie chuckled to himself. He'd reacted the same way back when he'd taken his first few steps inside the TARDIS with the Doctor, Ben and Polly.

"Oh, good grief," the Doctor suddenly muttered. He pulled a lever, but nothing had happened except for a 'THUD!' sound.

"What's the matter?" Jamie asked, approaching him.

"I was planning to send that stuff away from Earth, but it seems to have immobilized the TARDIS," the Doctor replied. "We're not going anywhere. I'll have to send an SOS. I hate having to call them, but …"

"What are you going to do?" Jo asked.

'Having to call them.' It suddenly dawned on Jamie what the Doctor was on about. The Time Lords. He remembered the last time the Doctor had done such a thing. They'd finally stopped the War Games, but were unable to send the remaining resistance fighters back to their own planets. The Doctor had no choice but to call them for help.

Jamie felt some dread – not to mention a bit of leftover anger – welling up inside him upon the resurface of those memories. After all they'd done, he couldn't help it. They'd taken him and Zoe away from the Doctor, wiped their memories and dropped them back in their own times. They'd also forced the Doctor to change his appearance and exiled him to Earth.

This version of the Doctor didn't seem to complain all that much – he must have grown accustomed to it as some point – but Jamie still found it hard to forgive the Time Lords for what they had done. He now found himself at a conundrum. They were faced with quite a serious situation and, if the Time Lords could somehow help them, perhaps he should let it go. At least for now.

"'Them'? Who's 'them'?" Benton had asked.

"The Time Lords," Jo confirmed. "Things must be pretty serious."

"Aye," Jamie said glumly.

"What's with him?" he heard Benton ask.

Jo shrugged and Jamie decided he should explain as he neared them. "Let's jus' say I've met the Time Lords before an' it wasnae exactly a walk through the park."

Jo appeared somewhat embarrassed and contrite, while Benton just seemed curious. "How do you mean?" he asked Jamie.

Jamie simply shook his head. Okay, not much of an explanation, but it was all he felt like sharing. "It doesnae matter anymore," he replied. "I'm jus' no' happy with them. But if they can help us figure this out an' keep us all safe, mebbe I'll change my mind."

At least he hoped he could.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, somewhere on a planet far, far away in time and space ..._

The President of the Time Lords paced nervously. The very existence of Time itself was now in jeopardy. They'd just received a communication from the Doctor, requesting help as his TARDIS had been immobilized by a hostile presence.

"Is the Doctor holding out?" he asked the Time Lord at the controls and wall screen.

"We are giving his TARDIS all the energy we can spare."

"And the hostile?"

"Unidentified so far, my Lord."

"And the source of this beam?" the Chancellor asked, approaching them. The Time Lord brought up the source in question on the wall screen: A black hole. The President frowned.

"You see, Chancellor? The black hole."

The Chancellor appeared dumbfounded for a moment. "According to all known laws, nothing can exist there."

"Yet somehow, through this black hole, vital cosmic energy is draining away in spite of all we can do to check it," the President told him.

"The time travel facility is already in danger, my Lord."

"Without it, we shall be helpless. Unless the energy loss is stopped, the whole fabric of space time will be destroyed! We are being consumed and have no way to fight back." The President frowned. They were up against an adversary equal and opposite to their own. Further, a force in the universe of antimatter.

"That's too terrible to contemplate," the Chancellor fretted. "Someone must go and help the Doctor."

"I agree, but no one can be spared, your Excellency," the President insisted. "Everyone is needed here to combat the energy drain."

"Are you saying we can't help him?"

"Yes, I am," the President admitted. Thinking for a moment, an idea struck. "Perhaps he can help himself. Show me the Doctor's time stream, the section for his earlier self before he changed his form."

"No, you can't allow him to cross his own time stream! Apart from the enormous energy it was require, the First Law of Time expressly forbids him to meet his other selves."

"I am aware of that, your Excellency. But this is a special circumstance. An emergency."

"But you can't!" the Chancellor protested.

"Your Excellency, I have to."

"Fine. Be it on your own head," the Chancellor conceded, leaving the room in a flourish.

"Now, show me," the President directed the Time Lord. After moving a few controls, the image on the screen changed to the Doctor's earlier incarnation running about. The President acknowledged the Time Lord once again with a decisive nod before turning back to the screen.

* * *

The sudden sound of the TARDIS materializing brought Jamie out of his reverie. Looking around, he found everyone else as perplexed as he was. What was going on?

The TARDIS then gave a slight jolt, nearly knocking them all off their feet.

"That's odd," the Doctor remarked. "Nobody touched anything, did they?"

"No!" Jamie, Jo and Sergeant Benton replied in unison.

"But you all heard it though, didn't you?"

"Aye, an' felt it too!" Jamie replied.

"Could it be that stuff outside?" Jo asked.

"No, I don't think so." The Doctor then seemed preoccupied with something lying atop the console. "Hello, what's this?" he said curiously, picking up the object.

Jamie finally took notice of it and felt his eyes widen.

"It seems strangely familiar. Is it yours, Jo?" the Doctor asked.

Unable to speak for a moment, Jamie stared at it, slack-jawed. Finally recovering from his shock, he pointed to it. "Doctor, it's yer -"

Without warning, a hand materialized out of thin air, grabbing the recorder. This was quickly followed by the rest of a man.

No, not a man. The Doctor.

 _His_ Doctor.

The Time Lord in question began cheerfully playing a few notes on the recorder before abruptly stopping, staring accusingly at the current Doctor.

"You haven't been trying to play this, have you?"

All Jamie could do was stand there, staring in shock.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Oh. You've been doing the TARDIS up a bit." There was a look of disapproval on the second Doctor's face as he looked about the room. "Hmm. I don't like it."

No one said a word. Jamie continued to stare at him, slack-jawed in complete shock. Here, right in front of him was 'his' Doctor. The one he hadn't seen since he'd been forced to say goodbye to him by the Time Lords. How was this possible? Could the Time Lords have had something to do with it? The present Doctor had 'called' them just moments ago. Could this have been their answer to his appeal for help?

Jamie felt a crazy jumble of emotions coursing through him. He wasn't sure whether he should run screaming out of the TARDIS (no, that certainly wouldn't be a good idea – not with that organism thing lurking outside), or rush up to 'his' Doctor and crush him in a hug (given the circumstances, perhaps not such a good idea either). More than anything, the sight unnerved him. It was almost as if he were seeing a ghost. There had to be some explanation for this. Jamie hoped one of them could provide that.

He vaguely noticed everyone gazing up at the scanner. From what he could tell, that organism thing was wreaking havoc in the lab.

"Oh, my word," his Doctor remarked. "We _are_ in trouble, aren't we. Just as well I turned up."

Jamie felt his mouth moving, but no words had come forth. He tried hard to shake himself out of this state of shock to no avail. Even after all the bizarre adventures he'd experienced with the Doctor (both of them now), this all seemed too unbelievable. Eyeing his Doctor, he felt almost embarrassed that he was unable to say a word to him. Not that it mattered; the Doctor didn't even seem to notice Jamie's presence. Jamie couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed by this, even despite his shock.

"Doctor, who on Earth -" Jo had started.

"Doctor! Where did you spring from?" Sergeant Benton suddenly interrupted with a smile.

The former Doctor seemed delighted to see him again. "Ah, yes. Corporal Benton, isn't it?"

"Sergeant Benton now."

Still in a bit of a daze, Jamie watched the two of them exchange pleasantries, his Doctor remarking how he hadn't seen Benton since their 'nasty business' with the Cybermen invasion.

"It happened all those years ago," Benton replied.

'Aye, all those years ago,' Jamie thought to himself. 'Didnae seem that long ago tae me.'

"Doctor, who is he and how did he get in here?" Jo asked the current Doctor. Jamie noticed she'd seemed a bit frustrated in her desire for an answer. Jamie himself wouldn't have minded one either.

"Well, it's a bit difficult to explain, Jo," the Doctor replied.

"Oh, allow me," the second Doctor cut in, much to the current Doctor's quite visible annoyance. Jamie didn't mind as long as they got some sort of explanation. "You see, Jo … I may call you Jo, mayn't I?" He'd turned on the charm, flashing a grin at Jo.

Annoyed by both the Doctor's flirting with Jo and his inability to get to the point, Jamie felt his lips draw into a frown and he cleared his throat. "Doctor," he uttered in a warning tone.

The second Doctor finally turned around and casually regarded him. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Jamie. I'll get back to you in a moment. I would just like to explain to this dear girl all that's been happening ..." He'd turned back to Jo but then suddenly whipped his head back around to Jamie in a double take, dropping his recorder onto the TARDIS console. His shocked expression almost perfectly mirrored Jamie's earlier one.

"Jamie? How ….?" he said quietly. "What are you doing here? I-I'd just left you and Zoe back in my own time stream. How did you get … " His voice trailed off again and he appeared utterly perplexed. Seemingly at a loss for words, he'd turned back to Jo, who still looked confused. Finally he regained the ability to speak. "I'm terribly sorry. Well, er … Well, you see, he is one of me," he said awkwardly, pointing to the current Doctor.

"Oh, I see," Jo replied after a beat. "You're both Time Lords."

"Well, not quite," the second Doctor told her, looking back at Jamie once again with some leftover shock in his expression. "You see, we're not just Time Lords. We're the same Time Lord."

Jamie gazed sympathetically at Jo. He himself had understood, but he could only imagine how puzzling this was to her.

"Please, you're only confusing my assistant," the current Doctor told his former self. He then turned to Jo. "It's quite simple, Jo. I am he and he is me."

"And we are all together, goo goo g'joob?"

Jamie felt his brow furrow in confusion. Turning back to the Doctors, he noticed them looking confused as well.

"It's a song by the Beatles," Jo explained.

"Oh? How does it go?" the second Doctor asked, grabbing his recorder off the console and putting it to his lips.

"Oh, please be quiet," the current Doctor retorted.

This only amounted in setting off the second Doctor and the two of them instantly began bickering. Finally having had enough, Jamie approached them and Jo.

"Look, Doctors, I ..." he started, trying to talk over them but they hadn't noticed and kept at it. Rolling his eyes in frustration, he walked away. His gaze flew back to Jo and Sergeant Benton, both of whom regarded him in sympathy. Nodding, Jamie managed an awkward smile and then gazed down at the floor, at a loss on what to do next.

Suddenly hearing footsteps, he lifted his gaze and found Jo in front of him. "Look, is he really him?" she asked quietly, hooking her thumb back towards the two Doctors.

Jamie had opened his mouth to answer but the Doctors had suddenly stopped, apparently having heard her.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," the current Doctor replied.

Jamie felt the corner of his mouth twitch into a little grin as he noticed 'his' Doctor appearing a bit insulted by the answer. "Aye," he said, turning back to Jo. "When I first met the Doctor an' traveled with him, he looked just like him."

Jo still appeared dubious. "You're joking."

"I'm afraid not, Miss Grant," Benton added. "He looked just like him when the Brig and I first met the Doctor as well."

"But how?"

"Yes, that's what I'd like to know," the current Doctor cut in, addressing his predecessor. "You've got no right to be here. What about the First Law of Time?"

"Perhaps I could explain?"

"Perhaps you could," the current Doctor returned in a challenging tone.

Jamie turned, looking expectantly at the second Doctor. He wished they'd arrived at this point a lot sooner instead of wasting time bickering.

"Well," the second Doctor began. "Our fellow Time Lords out there are just as much under siege as we are."

Jamie's eyes widened slightly. In some sick way, he felt a twinge of satisfaction upon learning the Time Lords were in trouble. Perhaps that wasn't in his best interest given the fact they might be able to help them here and now. Still, it would serve them right after what they had done to 'his' Doctor, not to mention to Zoe and himself.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, his gaze returned to the current Doctor who was eyeing the second Doctor incredulously. "What?"

"Yes, and they couldn't send anyone to help you. But they did summon up enough temporal energy to lift me out of my bit of our time stream and pop me down here, into my own future, so to speak."

Jamie nodded thoughtfully, although there was still one question burning in his mind.

"Why?" the current Doctor asked, echoing Jamie's thoughts.

"Oh, my dear fellow, you are being a bit dim, aren't you?" the second Doctor replied condescendingly. "Your effectiveness is now doubled!"

"Halved, more like," the current Doctor deadpanned.

Jamie snorted softly and rolled his eyes. Their behavior was more and more starting to resemble some comedy double act, filled with insults and put-downs.

"Now, now, there's no need to be ungracious," 'his' Doctor continued. "Suppose we have a look at our problem, shall we?"

The current Doctor held his hand out expectantly and the second Doctor nodded, making his way towards the scanner. From there they could see the space outside the laboratory. The Brigadier and one of the UNIT soldiers were fighting the red and black organism thing. Just as the soldier opened fire, a flash lit up the space and the water dispenser in the corridor vanished.

"Fall back!" the Brigadier shouted.

"Dear old Lethbridge-Stewart," the second Doctor sighed with a shake of his head. "Still blazing away as usual."

"Can't we do something tae help them, Doctor?" Jamie asked, directing his question to … whichever one would answer him.

"They'll be all right as long as they keep out of its way," the current Doctor replied before turning to address his former self. "Now you can see our problem, can't you?"

The second Doctor nodded. "Yes. They are very worried, you know." _They?_ Jamie wondered. He must have been talking about the Time Lords.

"Yes, and so am I. I think perhaps I ought to put you in the picture."

Jamie regarded them in confusion as he saw them stand side by side, closing their eyes.

"Contact," they both said in unison. They stood perfectly still for a few minutes before opening their eyes again.

"Hm, I see," the second Doctor said thoughtfully. "So it's after you, or should I say us?"

"That's right. And as they can't help us, we'll just have to help ourselves."

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star," the second Doctor suddenly muttered. He then picked up his recorder and played the tune.

Jamie had watched the whole thing, his brow furrowed in confusion before he simply shook his head, failing to make heads or tails out of the whole thing. Looking back at Jo and Benton, he found them looking as confused as he was.

"Now what was that all about?" Benton asked.

Jo shrugged slightly. "A sort of telepathic conference, I think."

Whatever it was, Jamie hoped it would get them closer to a solution. No such luck, as it seemed they were bickering once again, this time regarding the second Doctor's music. Jamie sighed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The President ceased his nervous pacing, having been called over to the screen by the Time Lord.

"We've achieved a transference, Sir."

"Splendid," the President told him, breathing a sigh of relief. Hopefully now progress could be made in trying to resolve this threat.

"But I don't think it's going to work."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Well, they refuse to cooperate," the Time Lord replied, gesturing to the two bickering Doctors on the screen.

The President snorted. Given how very different their personalities were, he should have known something like this might happen. There had to be some way to settle this …

An idea suddenly struck him and he felt his eyes widen. Could this really work? Why not? They'd expounded a small amount of energy to drop the Doctor's most recent predecessor into his time stream to assist him. Surely this wouldn't require that much more.

"Show me the earliest Doctor," he instructed the Time Lord.

"Him too, Sir? But surely -"

"Show me," the President insisted.

The Time Lord regarded him for a quick moment and then turned back around, moving several controls. An image of the first incarnation of the Doctor suddenly appeared on screen, showing him in a garden-like environment.

The President smiled knowingly. "He'll keep them in order."

* * *

"Oh, dear. You've been fiddling with it, haven't you?" the second Doctor said accusingly.

"It was perfectly all right until you touched it," the current Doctor retorted. "Now if only you'd leave things to me ..."

"If we were to leave things to you, my dear fellow, we'd be in a fine pickle, wouldn't we?"

"Look, _you_ lost the image, not me."

"I did not lose the image!"

Watching them go at it, Jamie sighed wearily. He was surprised his head hadn't started to ache from all the times he'd rolled his eyes.

"There they go again," Benton said as Jo nodded grimly.

"Aye," Jamie grumbled softly. "Surely ye'd think they'd grow tired of all this." Suddenly the flickering of the scanner caught his eye. Lifting his gaze to the screen, he found an image of a little old man with long, white hair stuck in some sort of pyramid. He studied it for a split second and then tapped Jo on the shoulder.

"Look," he told her, his voice nearly above a whisper as he gestured to the scanner. Sergeant Benton had noticed it as well, apparently, his gaze fixed on the screen.

"Look, both of you!" Jo exclaimed to the Doctors who were still arguing.

She'd finally succeeded in getting their attention. "What?" the current Doctor asked rather hotly.

"Up there," Jamie told them, pointing to the scanner again. He nodded as they approached him, standing closer to the scanner and looking at its image in surprise.

"Ah, there you are!" the old man said, apparently getting a glimpse of the two of them. "I seem to be stuck up here. Hm? Hm? So, you're my replacements. Huh. A dandy and a clown."

Jamie turned to find his Doctor scowling and couldn't help feeling insulted on his behalf. "That was you?" he asked quietly, leaning in towards both of them.

The current Doctor nodded while the second Doctor grumbled in the affirmative.

"He's no' a very nice man," Jamie told them.

The Doctor on screen then seemed to take notice of him. "And who's that there?" he asked, pointing at the screen. "A boy wearing a skirt, hm?"

"What?!" Jamie exclaimed, his voice rising in offense. "I'll have ye know this is a kilt!" He angrily balled up his fist. "Och, if only ye weren't on that wee screen up there, I'd take ye and -"

The current Doctor suddenly grabbed him and he found 'his' Doctor shaking his head. "Jamie, no. Just -"

The first Doctor clucked his tongue. "Oh, dear. Temper, temper!" He then stopped, appearing to study Jamie closer. "Ah, I see you're from up north. I can tell by that mongrel dialect of yours."

"Oh, dear," the second Doctor muttered quietly.

"'Mongrel dialect'?" Jamie cried incredulously. "And ye think yer so high an' mighty with that constant 'HM' of yers?!"

"Oh, goodness me," the first Doctor muttered. "Either one of you – or perhaps both. Please restrain this dear boy or he's liable to hurt himself."

Jamie huffed angrily, fixing the man on the scanner with a glare.

"Never mind that," the current Doctor told him. "Let's get to the problem at hand. We've already wasted enough time."

"Very well. Have you done anything?"

"Er, well, we've assessed the situation," the second Doctor started.

"Just as I thought. Nothing."

Jamie couldn't help glowering at this version of the Doctor, chastising them for not having done anything. True, their bickering hadn't helped matters, but this version of them was a fine one to talk, not having done anything himself to help.

"Well, it's not easy, you know," the current Doctor shot back defensively.

"It's not as if we know what that stuff is," the second Doctor added.

"Then I'll tell you. It's a time bridge."

"Eh?" Momentarily forgetting his irritation with the Time Lord, Jamie stared quizzically at him. Turning to his Doctor, he saw him appearing just as puzzled.

"It's a what?"

"I see," the current Doctor mused, apparently the only one who seemed to understand.

"Now, what's a bridge for, eh?" the first Doctor asked them.

"Crossing?"

"Right. So stop dilly-dallying. And cross it!" the first Doctor ordered gruffly. Before any of them could react, the image of him faded from the screen.

"No! No, wait!" the second Doctor cried.

The current Doctor turned to him, glaring accusingly. "You faded him again."

"I did not fade him! You saw – "

"Yes, you certainly did!"

Having had enough, Jamie smacked his hand on the TARDIS console to get their attention. "Look, would ye quit arguing an' put yer heads taegether to fix this?!"

It seemed to have worked as the two of them stopped and whirled around, regarding him in surprise.

"I hate to ask, but who was that?" Jo piped up, hooking her thumb towards the scanner.

"Me!" the two Doctors replied in unison. "Me!" The second utterance was made as they glared at one another angrily. As frustrating as their behavior was, Jamie couldn't help finding this amusing.

He then caught the second Doctor removing a coin from his pocket. "Call it, will you?" he said to his successor.

"Heads."

Although the second Doctor wouldn't let him see the result, he acted as though he had won. The current Doctor needless to say was not amused, judging from his weary sigh.

"All right. Stand by to disconnect the force field," the current Doctor directed him. Jamie's Doctor nodded as he readied his hand on one of the controls.

"Wait, is that such a good idea?" Jamie asked uneasily. Failing an answer, he sighed. He just hoped they wouldn't get into even more trouble. He'd trusted the Doctor thus far ...

"What are you going to do?" Benton asked. His question went unanswered as well.

"Now!" the current Doctor shouted as he made to run out of the TARDIS.

"Doctor, no!" Jo cried.

Jamie had barely caught his Doctor setting the controls as he watched the current Doctor run out of the TARDIS, Jo right behind him.

It suddenly hit him. He was now running right out into a trap. That red and black thing was still causing trouble in the UNIT lab. What was the current Doctor trying to do, use himself as bait? Giving a quick shrug, Jamie realized it's what he himself would have done.

But the Doctor could very well put himself in danger. Not only that, but Jo had run out there as well. He didn't want this thing zapping her away either. Realizing he had only a split second to act, Jamie rushed out of the TARDIS himself.

"Jamie!" his Doctor exclaimed in alarm. Ignoring him, Jamie joined Jo and the current Doctor outside the TARDIS, grabbing them and attempting to pull them back inside to safety.

"Jamie, what are you doing?! Get back inside the TARDIS!" the current Doctor snapped.

"I'm not lettin' ye put yerself in danger, Doctor!"

"Do as I say, now!"

Jamie reeled back in surprise. Recovering, he regarded the Doctor in frustration. He reached forward to grab Jo's arm, but she didn't seem intent on leaving either.

"Jo, get back!" the Doctor shouted at her.

Jamie reached out to grab Jo's arm anyway and attempted to pull her backwards. He noticed the familiar crackling sound growing louder.

"Doctor! Jo!" he'd shouted just before another bright flash of light overtook the room. Instinctively, Jamie squeezed his eyes shut.

As the light subsided, he tentatively opened one eye, gazing down at the hand which moments ago had clutched Jo's arm, attempting to remove her from harm's way.

There was no longer an arm for him to clutch. In fact, he was the only one left in the room.

Again.

He barely noticed Sergeant Benton rushing outside the TARDIS as he eyed the empty space in defeat.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Steady now, Sergeant, he knows what he's doing … at least I hope he does."

That was the Doctor's voice – 'his' Doctor's voice – coming from inside the TARDIS. Jamie finally turned away from the space formerly occupied by Jo and the current Doctor and found Sergeant Benton, appearing equally frustrated as he eyed the empty space. Heaving a sigh, Jamie looked at him and shrugged before the two of them went back inside.

"I tried tae stop them, Doctor, but they -"

"That's all right, Jamie. He had to do this."

"But what about Jo?" Benton asked.

"Yes, a pity she ran after him like that," the second Doctor fretted. He then turned to face Jamie, a hint of disapproval in his expression. "As did you, Jamie. Blundering into trouble, like always." He trailed off and uttered a humorless chuckle.

Jamie frowned. "I only wanted tae keep them out of danger," he protested, feeling a bit indignant over the Doctor's scolding him.

"Yes, of course," the Doctor conceded. As Jamie met his gaze, he noticed the Time Lord's expression turned a bit apologetic. There also seemed to be a bit of relief there as well, perhaps that Jamie himself hadn't been swallowed up by that thing. The Doctor appeared on the verge of saying something more but simply shook his head. "Now, let's have a look, shall we?" he said instead, looking up towards the scanner.

Following his gaze, Jamie was able to make out the red and black organism in the corner of the lab, lurking near the TARDIS. The thing seemed to have grown even more and was pulsing as it moved.

"Well, where are they?" Benton broke in. The Doctor seemed too transfixed on the image on the screen to hear him. "Doctor!"

The Doctor finally seemed to snap out of his reverie. "Well, as far as I can see, that stuff's gone to a great deal of trouble just to find me – er, him, so whoever or whatever it was that sent it can't merely want to kill him. No, they've been transported somewhere!"

"Transported? Well, what d'ye mean, transported?" Jamie asked incredulously. "Transported tae where?"

"No, just wait a minute," the Doctor replied distractedly, eyeing the scanner screen once more before turning to Sergeant Benton. "You know, Sergeant, I think our friend has gone off the boil, so to speak."

"Right, then. I'll take this chance to blow it to bits," Benton replied. "I'll get a grenade."

"Aye, I'll go with ye -" Jamie started just as the Doctor held out a hand to stop them.

"No, I think we could try a more subtle approach. Let's turn off the force field and open the doors first, shall we?" The Doctor bent over the console once again, manipulating the appropriate controls.

"Right." Benton headed for the door. Jamie was about to follow when he gazed back at the Doctor, hopeful that he knew what he was doing.

"Wait a minute. Let me go first," the Doctor told them, moving past them towards the now open TARDIS doors.

Jamie cautiously followed the Doctor out into the lab, Benton bringing up the rear with a sub-machine gun. The organism lurked a bit further away in the corner, completely still except for a very slight pulsating.

"What's it doing, Doctor?" Jamie whispered, leaning into him.

"Hmm. Awaiting further instructions, I would think," the Time Lord mused.

Without warning, the organism crackled to life, lashing out at them. Jamie's eyes widened in shock and he felt the Doctor grab his arm before the three of them dashed back into the TARDIS.

After a moment they gingerly approached the doorway and peered out into the lab. The thing seemed to have settled down again, causing Jamie to heave a sigh of relief. For a moment they stood watching it to avoid any more unpleasant surprises. Jamie caught a surreptitious nod from the Doctor, signaling they could try again.

They slowly made their way back out into the lab, cautiously approaching the organism. Jamie tried to get in front of the Doctor and Benton to shield them from any possible attacks, but the Doctor gently pushed him to the side. He'd approached the organism closer and bent to stare at it. Jamie wondered if that was such a good idea.

Benton seemed to concur. "You're not going near that thing, Doctor, are you?"

"I think it's all right. Just hiccups," the Doctor replied. Staring further at the organism, his mouth slowly spread into a grin. "Fascinating!"

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Oh, aye, a huge mad thing like that just swallowin' things an' people up. Ye gannae get yerself killed!"

Apparently the Doctor was unconcerned and simply ignored him. Jamie felt a nudge to his shoulder and turned to find Benton giving him a faint shake of his head.

The organism suddenly crackled to life again and in an instant, Jamie had rushed up to the Doctor and grabbed his arm.

The Brigadier suddenly appeared in the corridor just outside the lab, apparently having witnessed or heard the commotion. "For heaven's sake, be careful, Doctor!" he exclaimed, drawing his gun.

The Doctor rushed up to him, Jamie and Benton following.

"No, no, Brigadier, leave it alone!" the Doctor protested. "It's not dangerous for the moment. It seems to think it's achieved its mission."

Jamie tried hard to stifle a grin as he noticed the Brigadier doing a double take and staring hard at the Doctor's face. "Oh, no," the older man said gravely.

"Oh, yes," his Doctor merely replied with a grin of his own.

The Brigadier looked absolutely baffled. Jamie did wonder how he would react to seeing this version of the Doctor.

"Yes, but you're not the ..."

"Yes it is, Sir," Benton replied. "It's the first one."

"Aye, it's … him," Jamie added awkwardly.

The Doctor stepped forward, shaking the Brigadier's hand. "How are you, Brigadier?"

"Pretty well, thanks," the other man replied, still sounding dazed. "Doctor, what in blazes are you doing? Why did you change your appearance, and what's happened to Miss Grant?"

Jamie bit his lip to keep from laughing. The notion that the Brigadier believed this Doctor was the same as the current one and had merely changed his appearance to mess with him was quite amusing.

"Oh, well, I suppose it's rather a long story," the Doctor blurted. "Have you got any time?"

"I've got all the time in the world," the Brigadier replied, regarding him sternly.

* * *

His eyes blinking open, the Doctor found himself lying on his back on some dirty, rocky ground. It almost appeared to be a quarry of some sort. The sky was a dull gray and the temperature seemed fairly mild. He turned his head slightly to find Jo lying nearby.

Where were they and what on Earth had happened? The last thing he remembered was rushing out of the TARDIS while his earlier self turned off the force field. Both Jo and Jamie had run after him, but he'd told them to get back.

Well, Jo was here, but Jamie was nowhere to be found … nowhere he could see, anyway. Some worry begin tugging at him as he struggled to figure out where the young man could be. He hoped the Time Lords hadn't caught sight of Jamie, given the fact they'd taken him away from the Doctor before forcing him to regenerate and exiling him to Earth. Perhaps they might assume he was from his earlier self's time stream and do something to send him back there, believing it would cut down on the energy expounded to send his former self to help them.

He shook his head, scoffing inwardly. The whole notion seemed ridiculous and frankly beneath the Time Lords. Then again, anything was possible. He had to figure out what was going on.

The most important thing at the moment however was to try sitting up.

* * *

"There you are," the second Doctor said, coming to the end of his explanation. "It's all quite simple, really."

The Brigadier still appeared skeptical. "Yes, well, I'm sorry but I don't believe a word of it." He stopped for a moment, scrubbing his hands across his face. "Look, just tell me this. Are you or are you not the Doctor that I met during the Yeti business, and then later when the Cybermen invaded?"

"Of course I am. You can see that."

"Right. But then you subsequently appeared on Earth during that trouble with the Autons, only then you'd changed into a tall, thin fellow."

The Doctor's eyes lit up, his interest apparently piqued. "Had I really? How fascinating!"

Jamie watched the Brigadier's eyes narrow dangerously. "Doctor, I warn you ..."

The Doctor sighed. "It's no use your asking me about all this, Brigadier. As far as I'm concerned, it hasn't happened yet. Don't you see? I'm just a temporal anomaly."

Jamie wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but he couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed from the way his Doctor said it.

The Brigadier was apparently having none of it. "It's quite obvious to me what's happened. You've been mucking around with that infernal machine of yours."

Jamie eyed them worriedly and attempted to at least try to explain, but he doubted it would do any good.

"Sir, be careful," Benton piped up.

The Brigadier ignored him, glaring accusingly at the Doctor. "You've been mucking around with that infernal machine of yours, and somehow or other you've changed back your appearance and shot poor Miss Grant off to heaven knows where!"

"It's not as simple as that, Sir, honestly," Benton interjected.

"Aye," Jamie added softly. He had to admit the Brigadier's theory was a bit on the comical side and he almost would have laughed if it weren't for the fact he thought the older man was being a bit unfair to the Doctor. What reason would he have to send Jo off somewhere alone?

"Now that'll do, Benton, McCrimmon," the Brigadier scolded them. He'd seemed to calm down a little as he turned back to the Doctor. "There are just two things I want from you, Doctor: an effective way of controlling that stuff and the safe return of Miss Grant."

"What about our Doctor, Sir? Don't you want him back?"

"Enough of that nonsense, Benton," the Brigadier snapped. "I've got him back. As long as he does the job, he can wear what face he likes."

Okay, now it really was getting comical. Jamie lowered his head so the Brigadier wouldn't see the grin that had broken out across his face.

"Well, I'll do my best, but I can't make any promises," the Doctor replied.

"In that case, you'd better consult those all-powerful superiors of yours for their advice," the Brigadier told him.

"Oh, I don't think that'd do any good. At the moment they're far from being all-powerful. That's why it's been left up to me and me and me," the Doctor finished awkwardly, looking quite unsettled.

"You all right, Doc?" Benton asked.

"No, I'm not, Sergeant." He seemed to risk a glance at Jamie. "Apart from this whole situation, I … Well, I won't deny I'm shocked to see Jamie."

When his Doctor had first appeared and had hardly taken notice of Jamie, the Scot couldn't help feeling hurt. Given the urgency of the situation he had dashed these feelings aside, but here they were, resurfacing and not any less painful.

"Are ye, now?" he said. "Then how come ye barely paid any mind tae me since ye first appeared here? It's as though even lookin' at me would put a curse on ye, or turn ye into stone." The sarcastic edge to his tone nearly made him wince.

The Doctor himself hadn't been expecting it either, judging from the contrite expression on his face. "Oh, my dear boy, that's not the case at all. This whole idea of being plucked from my bit of time and put here is just rather unsettling," he explained. "I mean, I'd just left you and Zoe moments ago and now here you are with my, er, future self." He gazed apologetically at Jamie, a small smile on his face. "I will say it's very good to see you … again. I suppose this isn't so easy for you either. I mean, having been with _him_ for … how long have you been with him?"

Not even sure where he'd begin, Jamie just shrugged nonchalantly. "Er … For a while now."

The Doctor gave him a protracted stare and then simply looked away, raising his eyebrows. "Oh."

"Sorry, Doctor. I wish I could explain, but – "

"No, that's all right." His expression turned to one of child-like curiosity. "So if you've been here a while, you must have seen me change into my future self, am I right?"

All Jamie could do was stare at him, slack-jawed. He briefly turned and shared a look with Benton and the Brigadier, silently communicating with them not to let this Doctor know how he'd arrived in this time.

"Oh, my word, that must have really affected you, mustn't it?" the Doctor continued.

"Er, no, I didnae see ye change," Jamie replied, shaking his head. At least it was the truth.

The Doctor appeared perplexed. "Really? I wonder what happened, then. Perhaps you and Zoe were held captive somewhere while it took place, or perhaps you were unconscious, or ..." he rambled dizzily.

"Doctor," Jamie interrupted impatiently, holding up a hand. "Look, don' worry aboot it. I'm here, you're here an' that's all that matters now. And that we've got to find the Doctor – I mean yer other self – and Jo."

The Doctor smiled sheepishly. "Yes, you're right. I must say I'm glad to see you're well." His gaze fell to the floor. "You've been here a while with him, then. And you were with me a while as well. Which one of us do you prefer?"

Jamie gazed at him in surprise and quirked an eyebrow. He couldn't believe it. His Doctor was making him choose between them? "I, um … Well, I don' really prefer either of ye over the other … I mean, yer both the Doctor." He gave a tiny shrug.

"We may both be the Doctor, but we're still different," the Doctor continued, still gazing at the floor. A few seconds passed before he finally looked back up at Jamie expectantly.

Jamie stared at him incredulously before contorting his face in frustration. "Och, why ye gotta make this so hard fer me?" he complained.

"It's a simple question, Jamie!" the Doctor insisted childishly. "Him or me?"

"That's no' fair," Jamie replied, gazing at him in stone-faced annoyance.

The Doctor sighed, eyeing him contritely. "All right, all right. I suppose I've not been fair to you. Please forgive me. And I suppose he and I are the same, even with our obvious differences … Some more desirable than others, of course." He had an almost smug smirk on his face as he readjusted his bow tie, causing Jamie to roll his eyes before uttering a chuckle.

"It's good tae see ye have no' changed, Doctor," Jamie told him. His smile faded when he realized his obvious mistake and he screwed his eyes shut. "Och, why do I do that?"

This time he heard the Doctor chuckle and opened his eyes to find him patting him on the arm.

"Now that we've got this little reunion out of the way," the Brigadier cut in impatiently. "Would you mind telling me why we are unable to contact Miss Grant and your other self?"

* * *

 _Time Control_

From his position on the other side of the room, the Chancellor looked over at the Time Lord sitting at the wall screen and controls for perhaps the fiftieth time in minutes. He couldn't help being anxious, especially given the President's insistence on wasting power by bringing the other Doctor into the current one's time to assist in this serious predicament. He didn't know how long they could keep this up.

"What's happening?" he asked, rushing to the Time Lord's side.

"It's draining our power as fast as we can pump it in, Sir."

"Yet you continue to waste power we so urgently need," he snapped. "What is more, by permitting the Doctor to meet his other selves, you have transgressed the first and most important Law of Time."

"I know that, your Excellency, but this is an emergency," the Time Lord insisted.

"No emergency can justify this transgression. This operation must stop immediately."

"On the contrary, it must continue," the President interjected, making his way over to them. "The Doctor is our only hope. There is no one else."

"I could wish for more hope than that," the Chancellor shot back cynically.

"Your Excellency, you have said yourself we are dealing with a threat from an area over which even we have no control: A black hole in space, the universe of antimatter, unknown forces at least equal and opposite to our own."

"But the First Law of Time must be obeyed!" he insisted.

"It will be obeyed, later," the President told him. "For the moment, the Doctor needs all the help he can get." The view on the screen suddenly caught his eye. It had changed to the second Doctor on Earth with the UNIT personnel and … a young man who appeared very familiar. "Wait, isn't that ..."

The Chancellor followed his gaze and his eyes widened in shock. It was that young man who had been one of the second Doctor's companions. In fact he had been there when the Doctor was ordered to bring back the TARDIS and await his trial, the other being a small girl. Not only had they forced him to regenerate as part of his punishment, but had wiped his companions' memories of their travels with him and sent them back to their own times. What was this young man doing here, then? Had he somehow come through with the second Doctor when they'd plucked him from his own time stream? He was there when they'd done so and was sure it had only been the Doctor they'd removed.

"That young man should not be here. He was sent back to his own time and place. What's more, we had wiped his memories so he should have no recollection of any of these people. The only way he could be here is if he had come with the second Doctor. Are you certain you only removed the Doctor from his own time stream?"

"Yes I am, Sir," the Time Lord replied.

"Given our pressing issues, does it really matter how he got here?" the President interrupted in frustration.

"It's a violation of the Law of Time," the Chancellor insisted.

"The Law of Time is already being violated due to the second Doctor being there."

"But this makes it worse! We cannot afford the extra drain of power!"

The President sighed angrily and then turned to the Time Lord. "Are you sure you only removed the Doctor from his time?"

"Yes, I am, my Lord. Both of his companions remained."

"Then the boy must have arrived by some other means."

"But how?" the Chancellor demanded.

"I don't know for certain and, as I mentioned, we've got more important things to concern ourselves with. Besides, the boy may prove to be useful in assisting the Doctor and, in turn, us."

The Chancellor snorted, wondering how exactly the young man could be useful. Memories of the conclusion of the Doctor's trial suddenly surfaced. He had been there when they had taken him and the young girl away from the Doctor. He recalled the process they'd performed on both of them to remove their memories of their time with the Doctor. The boy had put up a fight at first before being forced to comply. Their methods had proven highly successful before. How, then, could his memories have returned?

He didn't doubt the Doctor may have had something to do with that, but there was no point in wasting time trying to figure out exactly how he'd arrived there. His fellow Time Lord was right. Back then, they'd seen how loyal the boy was to the Doctor. It was obvious he'd now fight for his friend and, by extension, the Time Lords themselves, even if he wasn't exactly pleased with them.

"All right," he nodded. He then decided to change the subject. "I still say this whole exercise is criminal irresponsibility."

"We can't stop now," the President continued. "Transporting the Doctor's other selves across the time stream has already utilized more energy than we can afford. They only have a limited time together. If they do not succeed, we shall lose our time travel facility and become as vulnerable as those we are pledged to protect."

"Well, then, you would do better to conserve your resources, not throw them away on what is no more than a dangerous gamble."

"I am prepared to take that risk."

"I understand your attempt to transport yet one more Doctor has met with only limited success."

The President frowned. "Yes, his transportation unit because trapped in a time eddy. At the moment all he can do is advise, but as you've just seen, the second Doctor is assisting UNIT to help with matters on Earth."

"And the other?" the Chancellor asked, referring to the current Doctor.

"He and his female companion have passed into the black hole. They are over the absolute event horizon."

Nonplussed, the Chancellor met his gaze. "Theoretically, they're dead."

* * *

Finally getting his bearings, the Doctor picked himself off the ground and gingerly approached Jo. She still appeared unconscious and the Doctor hoped he could rouse her. Bending down, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Jo? Jo? Can you hear me?" he asked softly. Receiving no response, he nudged her. "Jo, wake up."

Jo finally stirred, wrinkling her nose slightly before opening her eyes and appearing quite confused. "Where are we? Everything seems so strange."

"Are you all right?"

"We're not ..." she trailed off.

"Jo ..."

"We are dead, aren't we. We're dead," she exclaimed, her voice beginning to rise in panic.

The Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Calm down. This is a place. It's just like any other place. Well, almost. We've been brought here." Gazing at their surroundings, he frowned. "I thought Jamie had been as well, but I can't seem to find him."

"Had he made it through with us?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't know." He then felt a tiny spark of hope grow inside him. Perhaps Jamie hadn't ended up here with them and was safely back at UNIT with his other self, the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton. He really hoped this assumption was correct.

"Anyway, it's not much like heaven, is it," he continued, gazing at Jo. "Come on, let's go and take a look around." Jo nodded and began walking with him through the quarry.

As they began their journey, the Doctor had turned briefly to gaze up at the cliffs surrounding them. He suddenly caught a glimpse of something red just sticking up over the surface. It appeared somewhat familiar, or at least he had thought.

"Doctor?" Apparently Jo had noticed and was regarding him curiously.

Distracted, the Doctor turned and met her gaze. "Oh, er … Just thought I saw something. It's probably nothing. Come on."

He afforded himself one last glance in that direction before finally shaking his head and continuing their trek across the strange landscape.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jamie listened intently as his Doctor tried to explain what exactly had happened to Jo and his other self. It sounded like a bunch of complicated nonsense at first, but now he was finally beginning to understand. The Brigadier himself gave the impression that he found it quite preposterous but in the end decided to hear the Doctor out.

"So, wherever they are, Miss Grant and my other self, we can't contact them," the Doctor finished grimly. "That's the problem with antimatter. You can see the effect but never the cause. It's like being punched on the nose by the invisible man."

"Then what is this stuff?" the Brigadier asked him. He still appeared rather dubious, but not quite as much as he had earlier.

"The invisible man. Antimatter."

"But I thought you said that matter and antimatter couldn't meet without an explosion."

"Yes, that's right."

"So, it shouldn't exist here, but it does," the Brigadier mused, seeming to catch on.

"Yes. Awkward, isn't it? As far as I can see, there's only one explanation."

"Yes?" the Brigadier prompted him. Jamie met the Doctor's gaze, regarding him expectantly as well.

"Well, this stuff, or whoever sent it, is cleverer than we are." The Doctor frowned in apparent disappointment. "Unfortunate, isn't it?"

The Brigadier paused for a moment. "And there's nothing that even you can do?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," the Doctor replied, his voice a bit awkward. "We can make sure it stays harmless for a start."

"Oh, that's a relief," the Brigadier deadpanned. "Look, can I leave you to get on with that? Those other things are still outside. I must contact Geneva."

Jamie caught the Doctor giving him a nod, but the other man was already out the door. The Doctor then started digging into his pockets as if he were searching for something.

"I think the strain's been a bit too much for him, Doc," Sergeant Benton said.

Jamie nodded. "Aye. What are we gannae do now?"

The Doctor seemed to think it over for just a split second. "Keep it confused. Feed it with useless information," he told them. "Hmm. I wonder if I have a television set handy."

He continued searching while Jamie shared a look with Benton and shrugged.

* * *

Having walked quite a ways, the Doctor and Jo had only found a desolate landscape stretched out for miles before them.

That reality had quite abruptly changed, however, once they caught sight of something markedly out of place among their bleak surroundings. Nearing it, the Doctor found it to be a very familiar-looking water cooler and computer unit.

"Hm, that's odd," the Doctor muttered.

"Hey, surely that's the water cooler from outside the lab," Jo piped up. "And what's this?"

"Well, that's the Brigadier's computer," the Doctor replied. Another familiar object then came into view. "Look, this is the lab door."

"It's locked!"

"Well, it says 'No Admittance'," the Doctor reminded her, unable to suppress a cheeky grin as he caught Jo rolling her eyes. Nearly bumping into the coat hanger, he quickly sidestepped it and headed towards the workbench, spying Doctor Tyler's weather balloon box on top of it.

"Mm. Well, we both know what this is, don't we?"

"Sure do," Jo confirmed.

The Doctor paused in thought, trying to deduce exactly how this had all happened. How on Earth did this stuff – as well as they themselves, of course – get here? And, most importantly, _where_ were they? His gaze had wandered past a small slope and, catching sight of a very familiar, beloved object, he stiffened. "Er, Jo, do you see what I see?"

Jo gazed in the direction he'd pointed and her eyes widened. "Oh, yes!"

"That clinches it. We've been transported, and so has all this stuff." He nudged Jo. "Come on!" With that, he took off hurriedly down the slope, Jo following until they neared Bessie. Without a word, the Doctor climbed inside her and Jo got in next to him.

"Right. All we've got to do is find out where we are and who brought us here," he told her. "Where to?"

"Twice round the park?" she asked with a grin.

"Right." The Doctor briefly smiled before starting up Bessie and driving off.

They'd been traveling a fair distance before some interesting marks in the chalky ground near the edge of the ridge caught the Doctor's eye. He brought Bessie to a stop and then hopped out, kneeling down to study the marks further. They appeared much like boot prints. Jo was next to him, also bending and gazing at them in confusion.

"Man Friday, would you believe?" he asked, turning towards her.

"At the moment, I'd believe anything."

The Doctor nodded. "Come on. Let's find out where these lead. And who they belong to." He carefully started down the ridge, Jo behind him. Hopefully they would find whomever these prints belonged to, as well as another piece of the strange puzzle of how they got here.

* * *

Jamie gazed dubiously at the contraption he and Sergeant Benton had helped his Doctor piece together. It consisted of a large dish on a stand, attached to a transformer. The organism thing was still there, gently pulsating and crackling in the corner of the laboratory. It almost seemed to be watching them, wondering what they were going to do with this thing. Jamie hoped it would prove useful and get this organism to back off.

His gaze returned to the Doctor, who had an almost wistful smile on his face as he turned to Benton. "It's quite like old time, eh, Sergeant?"

A quick flicker of a smile appeared on Benton's face. "Yes, it is, isn't it."

'Aye. Jus' like old times,' Jamie thought to himself. Realizing how odd – perhaps even a bit sad – that sounded, he felt his lips draw into a slight frown. He looked up to find the Doctor must have noticed and was regarding him curiously. Jamie simply shook his head dismissively and the Time Lord shrugged. "Is it ready yet, Doctor?" he asked instead.

"Hm? Oh, nearly ready for testing."

"Look, Doc, why don't we give this great big blancmange the full treatment now?" Benton asked, seeming quite eager to get rid of the thing.

"Now, steady on, Sergeant."

"Right, come on, Doctor," Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart suddenly announced as he entered the room. "Security Council want an explanation and I'm leaving it all up to you."

"Oh, no," the Doctor groaned.

"Come on. They're on video in my office."

"Er, but won't they think it strange? I mean, me? In this form?" the Doctor asked him. He was obviously very uncomfortable.

"Hey, why don' I do it?" Jamie suddenly broke in. They had to think he was daft, but anything to save the Doctor some embarrassment.

The Brigadier eyed him incredulously. "You can't possibly be serious. They've no idea who you are, and they're certainly not going to listen to a young, floppy-haired, Scottish highlander."

Jamie couldn't help feeling a bit insulted as he eyed him in frustration.

The Doctor turned and regarded him sympathetically. "I know you want to help, Jamie, but -"

"Look, Doctor, I've explained all this to them," the Brigadier continued. "You're the other Doctor's assistant."

"His what?!" the Doctor exclaimed, sounding quite offended himself.

"I've decided the truth is too much for them. Assistant it will have to be."

Jamie felt a bit frustrated on the Doctor's behalf. "I could've still talked to them, ye know," he told the Brigadier. "I could tell them I'm his assistant."

"It's too late for that now, McCrimmon. And no disrespect, but I highly doubt they'll take you seriously."

"Och," Jamie grumbled angrily.

"So, how about it, Doctor?" the Brigadier continued, turning to the Doctor impatiently.

The Time Lord waved his hands in the air, gesturing to the device in front of him. "Well, I've just set this thing up! Now I won't be able to confuse it!"

"Mm. It seems to be your forte, Doctor. Confusing people." The Brigadier's frown softened as his attention turned to the organism in the corner. "You're sure that thing's all right?"

"Yes, it's as quiet as a lamb. We've got it thoroughly subdued, haven't we, Sergeant? Jamie?"

Still feeling rather disappointed and useless, Jamie simply shrugged.

"We haven't tested it yet," Benton supplied.

The Brigadier seemed to take a moment to think and then finally nodded. "All right, then. Benton, you and McCrimmon had better keep an eye on it."

Benton seemed surprised. "Us, Sir?"

"Yes, you," the Brigadier insisted.

Jamie gave him a small nod. At least he was good for something.

"Oh, very well," the Doctor finally replied with a sigh. He grabbed a control with a red button on top and handed it to them. "Here, you'll need this. Now, if it gives the slightest trouble, a little dose of that will settle it."

Jamie regarded the control in Benton's hand dubiously. "What if that doesnae work, Doctor?"

"Then give it the lot!" the Doctor cried. Jamie stepped back hastily, not expecting his vehement reaction. He realized the Doctor was under quite a bit of stress at the moment, but he still hoped this was enough to keep that thing at bay if it decided to strike at them again.

"Come on, Brigadier," the Doctor finally said, joining the other man outside the lab before making their way down the corridor.

Once they had left, Jamie shared a look with Sergeant Benton and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. "Ye must think me daft. I jus' want tae help the Doctor as much as I can. I've been feelin' a wee bit … useless." He managed a sheepish smile.

"No, I understand," Benton told him. "I mean, he was 'your' Doctor. I think this whole thing has been too much for the Brig." He briefly nodded towards the corridor and then turned back to Jamie with a slight grin. "Perhaps after it all gets settled he should put in for some R and R."

An amused chuckle bubbled up from Jamie's throat. "I think we'll all need somethin' like that." His thoughts drifted to Kathryn and the two of them relaxing on a nice holiday somewhere, snuggling in each other's arms. He quickly felt a wistful smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Hearing a faint noise, he shook himself out of his reverie and looked up to find Benton hanging the control the Doctor gave him on the dish. He'd then reached into his pocket, removing a small, wrapped piece of chewing gum.

"Are ye sure ye should be doin' that?" Jamie asked uneasily. What if that thing suddenly lashed out at them? Would they be prepared? This wasn't something to take lightly.

Popping the gum in his mouth, Benton merely shrugged. He appeared on the verge of saying something when another UNIT officer stuck his head in the room. "Sergeant Benton? Message for you, Sir."

Sighing, Benton nodded to Jamie. "You'll be all right with that thing for a quick moment?"

"Oh, aye." Figuratively, he was crossing his fingers behind his back. He hoped Benton would only be a quick moment.

Benton flashed a grateful smile at him before he followed the other soldier out of the room.

Sighing uneasily, Jamie turned back to the organism and stared at it. "Yer no' gannae give me any trouble, are ye now?" he asked the thing warily, pointing at it.

The organism simply sit there, crackling away. Jamie almost wondered if it was laughing at him. He felt himself wincing a bit as he slowly approached the dish, bending to pick up the control. His eyes narrowed as he watched it, pausing briefly to give it a short burst of a crackle from the dish.

Nothing happened.

He regarded the dish thoughtfully for a moment. The organism seemed completely unfazed by the quick jolt he'd given it. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to try again. Returning his gaze to the organism, he pressed the control's button to give it another quick burst.

Once again, it didn't seem to have any effect. Jamie was at a loss as to what to do next.

"Doctor?" he called, turning briefly towards the corridor. "Sergeant Benton? Are ye there?"

Having received no answer from the empty corridor, he turned back to the organism which was still active. Realizing he was out of options, Jamie grabbed the control and turned the machine on full power.

The organism seemed to jump to attention and then began lashing out.

Jamie jumped back a couple of feet, his eyes widening in fear. "Doctor! Doctor!"

He quickly breathed a sigh of relief as the Doctor suddenly appeared, rushing around the corner and into the room, followed by the Brigadier.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked.

Jamie was about to answer when he suddenly spotted Sergeant Benton quickly returning.

"Benton, where were you?" the Brigadier asked accusingly.

"Sorry, Sir. I had a quick phone call. I gave the control to Jamie."

The Brigadier grumbled a reply before eyeing Jamie in alarm. "McCrimmon, what have you done?"

"I did what the Doctor told me, but it didnae work!" Jamie exclaimed. "It's gone mad!"

"Oh, my ..." Benton started. He was cut off as the thing started crackling and lurched forward, lashing out threateningly at them.

"Into the TARDIS, quickly!" the Doctor shouted.

The Brigadier merely stood, staring in shock. It was as if this whole situation was completely unreal to him. Jamie and Benton grabbed him by the arms and quickly dragged him into the TARDIS, closing the doors behind them.

Jamie stood leaning forward, shoulders hunched as he tried to catch his breath. Recovering, he found the Brigadier gazing curiously around the inside of the TARDIS.

"Yes, it's quite cozy, isn't it?" the Doctor told him, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Oh, you'll soon get used to it, old chap. Relative dimensions and all that."

"So this is what you've been doing with UNIT funds and equipment all this time," the Brigadier remarked dryly. "How's it done? Some sort of optical illusion?"

"Oh, no no no. They all come like this, really."

Jamie couldn't stop the grin that made its way across his face. It faded once he caught a glimpse of the view from the scanner. The whole area outside was lit up with lots of flashes.

Benton had obviously noticed it as well. "Hey, Doc, it's going berserk out there."

"Aye, like a lightnin' storm!"

"Mm, yes it is, isn't it," the Doctor said, studying the picture intently.

"All right, now that we're in here, what do we do?" the Brigadier asked with a bit of impatience.

Jamie gazed at the Doctor expectantly. Surely he would have some idea. They couldn't just hunker down in here forever, not with the current Doctor and Jo still out there somewhere.

"Oh, well, we have a think." He grabbed a small sack from his pocket and offered it to the Brigadier. "Care for a jelly baby?"

The Brigadier merely blinked at him while Jamie himself reached inside and grabbed a couple of sweets, popping them in his mouth. Off the Brigadier's withering stare, Jamie gave a shrug and an innocent smile as he chewed.

* * *

The Doctor and Jo were more than halfway through their descent down the side of the ridge when he'd spotted a man at the very bottom. He appeared to be looking down at the ground and muttering to himself.

Jo watched him for a moment, a frown of confusion on her face. "Who's that?"

Getting a bit closer, the Doctor stopped and his eyes widened in astonishment. It was the very chap who'd gone missing from the lab earlier. "It's Doctor Tyler!" he exclaimed. Edging a bit closer, he waved at the man. "Doctor Tyler!"

"Huh?" The man finally turned around, appearing somewhat distracted as the Doctor and Jo rushed down the rest of the incline and make their way up to him. He suddenly did a double take, his mouth dropping open. "Why, it's the Doctor, isn't it? And Miss Grant!"

"How did you get here?" Jo asked him.

The Doctor listened intently as Tyler recounted what had happened. He had been in their lab developing the plate when some kind of explosion occurred and he'd ended up here, just like that.

"Oh, it's fascinating," he finished, an awestruck smile on his face.

"Do you know where we are, Doctor Tyler?" Jo asked.

Frowning, Tyler shook his head. "No, I don't. Do you, Doctor?"

The Doctor paused briefly in thought. Earlier he'd had just an inkling as to where they might have ended up, but he'd worked it out in his head and all the pieces had now come together. "Yes. We're at the other end of that light streak of yours. We've been transported along it."

"What?" Tyler asked with a nonplussed expression. "But … that's in the black hole."

"Yes, exactly. That's where we are, on a stable world in a universe of antimatter. An anomaly within an impossibility."

"Huh?" Jo cut in, looking confused.

"What he means is that a place like this shouldn't exist in a cosmos like this," Tyler attempted to explain. "And even if it does, we shouldn't be here anyway … I think."

Jo nodded. "Oh." Poor girl still looked quite lost.

The Doctor gave her a sympathetic chuckle, patting her shoulder. "Well, here we are, kidnapped and marooned. But by whom?" He now knew where they were, but the question of who had dropped them there was still unanswered.

Like it or not, he had a feeling they'd soon find out.

* * *

The renegade sat, gazing at a screen set into the rock wall of his throne room. On this screen he could see his three 'guests' walking along the surface. As he studied them closely, he was able to positively identify one of them in particular …

A fellow Time Lord.

The renegade grinned inwardly as he tented his glove-clad fingers. He was dressed in a cloak, much like his fellow Time Lords, although his was a turquoise color with gold accents. Also unlike his fellow beings, a large, gold mask covered his face.

"At last, a Time Lord within my power." One of his red-and-orange colored guards, which he had dubbed 'Gels', appeared at his side. "Let my guests be brought into my presence," he ordered, gesturing to the view on the screen.

Without hesitation, the Gel left. The renegade sat back and hummed a random, cheerful tune, waiting for his guests to arrive. Yes, this was too perfect. Things were going to turn out just as he had planned now that he'd have help. The Time Lords were going to be brought to their knees.

The mere thought of it caused him to laugh in satisfaction.

* * *

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully as Tyler told them about the creatures he'd seen. He then realized he wasn't just seeing things when he thought he'd caught a glimpse of such a creature just over the ridge earlier. Not to mention, they sounded quite familiar.

"These things sound very much like the creatures that attacked us at UNIT HQ," he mused.

Jo nodded.

The Doctor regarded Tyler curiously. "What exactly did they look like?"

He noticed the man's expression tinged with alarm and he followed his gaze towards the cliff above him. "Like that," he replied, pointing to a pair of said creatures.

Jo took one look at them and screamed.

"Run!" the Doctor shouted.

Run they did, but they'd only gotten several yards away before a set of explosions started going off all around them. They were sitting ducks. Sighing, the Doctor realized they had no choice but to surrender. Glaring at the creatures, he raised his hands, nodding at Jo and Tyler to do the same.

It now seemed obvious these creatures were working on behalf of someone – or something. The question of whom had sent them here was no doubt about to be answered …


	7. Chapter 6

Jamie watched Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart pace back and forth near the TARDIS doors. He was obviously impatient to leave. With that organism thing still out there, Jamie didn't think that was such a good idea.

"Doctor, will you open this door?"

"That thing's still prowlin' around out there, ye know," Jamie reminded him.

"Jamie's got a point, Sir," Benton added. Jamie shot a grateful look in his direction.

"Hmm, my little plan seems to have misfired," the Doctor said. "I seem to have accentuated its metabolic rate."

"Eh?"

"Yes, most unfortunate," the Doctor continued fretfully, oblivious to Jamie's confusion. "It shouldn't have happened. Now, what went wrong?"

"Doctor!" the Brigadier shouted. "Will you let me out of this contraption?!"

The Doctor continued to mutter to himself, obviously trying to figure out what was going on with the organism. Suddenly he straightened up, his eyes widening. "Of course, you fool, it's antimatter! It had the opposite effect! I've actually stimulated it!"

"Will you stop nattering and let me out of this madhouse?!"

"Um, Doctor," Jamie cut in uneasily, gesturing towards the Brigadier whose face was now beet red.

The Doctor finally stopped and gazed at the Brigadier. "There's no point. Now, have you seen my recorder anywhere? It's a little thing about this long with holes in it. I had it when I came in and I put it down somewhere, but I can't find it."

Shutting his eyes, Jamie groaned inwardly. The Brigadier was angry enough as it was. If he didn't end up launching himself at the Doctor and throttling him, he'd be exercising an admirable amount of restraint. Cautiously opening an eye, Jamie found that not to be the case, however.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, but I'm afraid I must insist," he told the Doctor in a calmer voice. "My place is with the men out there, trying to do something about this, well, whatever it is out there, not standing around here messing about looking for some damn fool flute!"

The Doctor sighed. "Brigadier, I cannot open that door without first turning off the force field. And even if I did, you'd never make it across the floor. That thing out there has become a killer." His expression turned remorseful. "It's my fault and I'm sorry."

The Brigadier quirked an eyebrow. "Sorry?" he repeated, his voice rising incredulously.

"All we can do now is think, and I think best to music. Now, where is my recorder? Jamie, be a good lad and help me find it, will you?"

Trying to ignore the Brigadier's near apoplectic expression, Jamie rolled his eyes and sighed, begrudgingly nearing the Doctor and looking around the console for his lost instrument. This was going to take longer than he'd expected.

* * *

The Doctor gazed curiously at the corridor he, Jo and Tyler had been escorted into. The walls seemed built very much like those guards, made of bright, reddish balls.

"It looks just like Aladdin's cave," Jo mused.

The Doctor nodded. "Mm. It's the entrance to some sort of palace, I should imagine."

"I wonder who it belongs to?" Tyler asked.

The Doctor had no idea but was certain they'd soon find out.

"I'm not sure I want to know," Jo said grimly.

Tyler nodded. "Yes, whoever brought us here doesn't mean us much good. And I don't fancy hanging around to meet him. I'm going to try and make a break for it." He abruptly stopped, turning to head in the opposite direction.

"What?" the Doctor started, regarding him in surprise.

"The time to make a getaway is now, while we're still near the entrance," Tyler explained. "Once they get us down that maze of passageways, we shall never get out!"

The Doctor sighed in frustration. "My dear Doctor Tyler, I don't want to get out. I want to meet our host. I allowed myself to be brought here for that very purpose."

"Perhaps you did, Doctor, but we didn't want to come here and we don't want to stay," Tyler insisted, gesturing to himself and Jo before turning to gaze down the corridor.

The Doctor briefly rolled his eyes. How could he make this man see his point? "Don't you understand? You were both brought here by accident. Your only chance of getting back lies in my persuading whoever brought you here to send you home."

Tyler shook his head, more obstinate than ever. "I prefer to take a chance on my own." He then turned to Jo. "How about you, Miss Grant? Are you coming with me?"

"No, I'll stick with the Doctor, thank you," she replied, much to the Doctor's relief.

"Looks like I'll have to go on my own then," Tyler muttered hastily, turning and hurrying off in the other direction.

"Doctor Tyler, you're not going anywhere!" the Doctor called after him.

The other man stopped in his tracks and turned around. "What?"

"I refuse to allow you to endanger all our lives."

Tyler seemed to consider this. "Hm. No. No, I suppose you're right."

The Doctor sighed, a small, relieved smile tugging at his lips ...

… Which was quickly wiped off his face as he witnessed Tyler dashing away.

"Tyler! Tyler, come back!" he shouted. "Tyler!"

The Doctor started to run after him when several guards suddenly appeared, blocking the way. He growled in frustration. "Idiot! He'll jeopardize the entire operation."

Jo nodded. "With his life, probably."

"Yes." He watched Tyler hurrying through the passages, a guard following him.

He turned to Jo and found her eyeing him sympathetically. "They might not harm him," she offered. "You said we were only here by mistake."

Her admission caused a spark of hope to grow inside him. "Yes, that's right, Jo. I'm the one they're after. I'm sure I can persuade our host to send you back."

"But supposing you can't? They might just get rid of us." She bit her lip nervously.

The Doctor had barely heard her as he was distracted watching Tyler move through the corridors. His escape appeared to be blocked by another guard, causing him to start heading back.

"Jo, we're dealing with a creature of great intelligence, and superior intelligence and senseless cruelty just do not go together."

"Oh, I hope you're right."

The Doctor patted her shoulder and gave her a ghost of an encouraging smile. He then looked up to find Tyler running back to them. He'd overstepped and ended up falling on the ground.

"Tyler!" the Doctor exclaimed. He was immediately at the other man's side, helping him get up. "Come on, get up. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I think so," Tyler replied, flustered. "Thanks. Well, that was a bit of a waste of time, wasn't it."

Noticing then man's awkward, sheepish expression, the Doctor couldn't help but smile sadly at him.

* * *

Affording one last glimpse around the TARDIS console, Jamie frowned, the search for the Doctor's recorder turning out to be fruitless. "Sorry, Doctor," he said with a shrug as he straightened up. "I've nearly torn this place apart lookin' for it ..." He emphasized his point with a sweeping gesture towards the console.

The Doctor had failed to answer him, distracted as he was squatting around the console busily searching himself. Jamie shifted his gaze to the Brigadier, who was still quite distressed as he removed his radio from his pocket.

"Corporal Palmer, this is the Brigadier. Do you read me? Over."

"You're wasting your time," the Doctor told him, still appearing distracted. "You'll never get through with the force field on."

The Brigadier seemed determined not to let that stop him. "I've got to find out what's going on out there."

The Doctor suddenly paused and straightened up. "Let's have a look at this thing," he told the Brigadier, reaching for the radio.

Lethbridge-Stewart begrudgingly handed it over to the Doctor, who began to take it apart. "I'll try to set you up a communications unit." The Brigadier eyed him warily. "Don't worry, I can boost this through the TARDIS' communication circuit ... I think."

The military commander rolled his eyes and sighed. "That's it. I give up."

Jamie watched as Benton approached him, looking concerned. "With respect, Sir, aren't we wasting time?"

"Are you still worried about your other Doctor, Sergeant?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, yes, I am," Benton replied.

"Aye. An' Jo, too," Jamie added.

"Well, I shouldn't worry too much if I were you," the Doctor said, attempting a reassuring smile. "In fact, I rather envy them."

"What?" Jamie asked, his brow furrowing in response to the Doctor's cryptic statement.

"Yes, I think they're having a very interesting time."

Jamie began thinking he might envy them as well, in a way. Provided they weren't dead or in mortal danger, of course … No, they couldn't be. He reminded himself to think positive.

* * *

Jo worried her lip nervously as she, the Doctor and Doctor Tyler traversed the passageways through which they were being escorted by the guards. She hoped they would soon find out who had brought them here, and why. She couldn't help worrying their captor was some nasty, formidable being they couldn't reason with. They'd been in dire situations before though and the Doctor had usually come out on top. This time shouldn't be any different …

She hoped.

"It still doesn't make sense, Doctor. We are matter, and you say this place is antimatter." She was grateful for Tyler's voice cutting through her distressing thoughts, taking her mind off them for at least a little while.

"That's right," the Doctor replied.

"So, the mere fact of our being here should cause a colossal explosion." Jo felt her eyes widen upon that thought. If there was some sort of paradox preventing such a thing from happening, she was right glad for it.

"Yes, well, our bodies have been converted – processed in some way – so we can exist here," the Doctor explained.

Jo nodded thoughtfully. Memories of the occurrences at UNIT HQ when this all started suddenly tapped her on the shoulder and it was all finally beginning to make sense. "Just as that organism thing could exist in our world?"

"Yes, exactly."

Tyler still seemed dubious as he shook his head. "I just don't believe it. This is matter. I can see it. Why, I can _feel_ it." He reached out and touched the wall of the passageway as if to confirm his point.

The Doctor suddenly slowed to a stop and was eyeing Tyler intently. Jo could tell he had something up his sleeve if the twinkle in his eye was anything to go to by. "But things aren't always as they seem, Doctor Tyler." He suddenly reached into his jacket pocket and produced a pencil. "Now, take this pencil, for example."

Tyler merely blinked. "It's just a pencil, isn't it?"

The Doctor's eyes gleamed. "Ah, but is it? Watch very, very closely."

Jo felt a grin of anticipation widen on her face as she watched the Doctor hold the pencil vertically at arms length. He let it go with a flourish and it had momentarily vanished. There was another flourish, and …

"Or is it a bunch of flowers?" the Doctor grinned, holding up the colorful bunch of fake, silk flowers that had replaced the pencil.

Jo accepted the flowers from him with a smile and then shifted her gaze to Tyler. A knowing smirk had quickly replaced his momentary astonishment. "Ah, that's all very well, but that's just a conjuring trick," he said, obviously unimpressed.

"Yes, that's exactly what this place is," the Doctor shot back. "A scientific conjuring trick of a very high order. I think the waiting is over."

Tyler seemed about ready to say something else when a strange growling – yet burbling at the same time – noise interrupted. Jo squinted, trying to figure out where it was coming from, but that was nearly impossible. The noise seemed to be the same volume and frequency throughout the entire length of the passageway, from what she could tell.

Feeling a slight shove to her back, she briefly turned to find the guards pushing them forward, ushering them along to meet the mystery being who'd summoned them here. Jo gazed one last time at the bunch of flowers in her hand and merely dropped them onto the ground. Turning back around, she sighed deeply, following the Doctor and Tyler the rest of the length of the passage.

* * *

Trying hard to ignore the incessant back-and-forth pacing of the Brigadier, the Doctor was bent over the man's radio, trying to modify the settings to boost its range via the TARDIS' communication circuit. As usual he thought the Brigadier was overreacting just a bit. After all, there was no point in his trying to contact the other personnel. They were pretty much stuck in here for the time being. He'd made one more modification and sighed, believing it would work this time. Hopefully the Brigadier would now be satisfied. Anything to keep him from barking at him.

"Here we are, Brigadier," he said, smiling as he handed the radio to the military man. "Have a try with that." The Brigadier took one look at the radio and quirked an eyebrow, regarding it warily. "It's all right. It won't bite you."

The Brigadier met his gaze one last time and then tried the radio, pushing a button."Corporal Palmer? Come in, Palmer."

The Doctor watched nervously, hoping it would finally work. The only response was a loud, cracking sound. With a sigh, the Brigadier handed the radio back to him in defeat. Affording it one quick glance, the Doctor decided to do the only thing he knew was sure to make it work.

He bashed it hard against the TARDIS console a couple of times.

Out of the corner of his eye he'd managed to catch Jamie wincing and taking a quick step back in reaction. For a brief moment, the Doctor smiled inwardly. Even though it had to have been at least several years into his future, Jamie was still the same lad he'd only left moments ago. It was also – perhaps oddly – comforting to know Jamie was still with 'him.' He still had no idea of the circumstances surrounding his regeneration and perhaps it was better not to know them, considering how different things now were from his own time stream. Still, it was nice to know there was one constant of sorts with him.

He was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of a voice crackling on the radio. "Ah, there you are," he said, forcing a smile as he handed it back to the Brigadier.

"Corporal Palmer here. Over," the voice announced.

The Doctor listened with half an ear as the Brigadier told Palmer they were pinned down the laboratory and asked for an update on their own situation. From what he gathered, the building was still surrounded by those strange creatures, and Palmer and his men were standing by for further orders.

"Now listen, Palmer. I want every man to maintain vigilance, but no further offensive action, is that clear? Over."

As the Brigadier barked out his orders, the Doctor turned to find Jamie beside him. The young Scot was gazing in the Brigadier's direction with a bit of a pained look on his face, most definitely due to the other man's abrasiveness. The Doctor dropped his gaze to the TARDIS console and had suddenly become very interested in the condition of the various controls. My, how worn they looked ...

He realized he'd zoned out as he felt a slight tap on his shoulder. His eyes refocusing, he found Jamie leaning into him.

"Say, Doctor, do ye think we can figure somethin' out an' get these creatures away from here?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm sure we can, Jamie," the Doctor said, managing a slight smile for his companion. "I wouldn't doubt the other 'me' is trying to figure something out as well ..." His smile faded, his mood turning a bit cynical as he stared at his hands. "Provided he's all right, anyway."

"Now just a moment. Don' ye be talkin' that way. Eh?"

Lifting his gaze one again, he noticed Jamie giving him a sort of gentle, scolding expression. The Doctor's lips spread into a rueful smile and he reached over to give his friend a gentle pat on the shoulder. Jamie was right. There was no point in talking – heck, thinking – this way. He and his companions had been through some very dire situations before and had always pulled through. Even with the stakes this high, there was no reason this one would be any different.

"Doc ..."

Sergeant Benton's voice had suddenly broken through his jumble of thoughts. "Hmm?" the Doctor replied absently.

"Doctor, it's the old boy," Benton told him, gesturing towards the scanner.

Following his gaze, the Doctor found his previous self had apparently returned for another communication. Jamie had rolled his eyes and grumbled, earning him a sympathetic smile from the Time Lord just before directing his attention to the scanner.

"Made any progress?" the first Doctor asked.

The second Doctor sighed. "No, not at all. And you?"

"Hardly. I'm trapped in this infernal time eddy," the first Doctor replied gruffly.

"What about our fellow Time Lords?"

"Growing steadily weaker. They can't seem to check their energy loss."

The second Doctor frowned. This certainly was not good. "We can't help you, I'm afraid." Perhaps he was right to be cynical after all.

His earlier self obviously didn't feel the same. "Oh, yes, you could," he said.

"Oh? How?"

"Well, first, turn off your force field," he instructed.

"What? But, I don't ..."

"Off, I said," the first Doctor insisted.

The second Doctor frowned in thought. What on Earth was he on about? How would that make any difference? "But, I still don't see ..."

"Oh, use your intelligence," the first Doctor told him. Before the second Doctor could ask him to elaborate, the image quickly faded away.

"Oh, dear," the second Doctor groaned, clutching his hair nervously.

Apparently what had been said caught the attention of the Brigadier, who was now standing right behind him. "Who in the name of heaven was that?" he asked, pointing to the now blank scanner.

"I'm afraid you'd never believe me," the Doctor replied, eyeing him contritely.

* * *

Jamie eyed the Brigadier worriedly as his Doctor had tried to explain about his previous self. The military man certainly appeared skeptical, but at least seemed to be hearing the Doctor out. The Doctor had appeared in thought for a time after the communication with his earlier self had ended, and had then informed them of what he planned to do. This included turning off the force field, a decision Jamie admitted he wasn't all that comfortable with.

Neither was the Brigadier, it seemed. "But you're not going to turn off the force field, are you?"'

"Yes, I think so," the Doctor replied, some reluctance in his tone.

"But why?"

"Because he told me to. And I've always had a great respect for his advice."

Jamie couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes and snorting softly as he realized it was the Doctor's earlier self he was referring to (and, by extension, himself).

"But Doctor, if you switch the force field off, that thing out there can get at the TARDIS," Benton told him, also not sounding comfortable with the idea.

The Doctor's reaction was not what Jamie was expecting. "Precisely!" he replied, eyes twinkling and a bit of a mad grin on his face.

"Well, how is that a _good_ thing?" Jamie demanded.

The Doctor's grin faded as he met Jamie's gaze. "Jamie, you'll just have to trust me," he said simply. "Now, hold tight, everyone!" he declared, grabbing the control to switch off the force field.

Jamie winced, grabbing onto the console as the TARDIS began to shake violently. He had no idea what was going on or where they were going, but if it got them closer to finding the current Doctor and Jo, he supposed it was for the best.

* * *

The UNIT men led by Corporal Palmer crouched, ready for the Brigadier's orders and trying to figure out how to defeat these odd creatures.

… The creatures that were just there a split second ago, anyway. They had now disappeared without a trace. Palmer's brow furrowed, gazing at the scene before them in confusion. Could the Doctor have done something to teleport them away someplace?

Before he could think on it another moment, the whole of UNIT HQ had also vanished. It was as if it … never existed. No trace of it at all.

Palmer shared a look with the rest of his men, scratching his head in bewilderment. The whole time he'd been here, he'd seen some odd things, but this was sure to take the cake.

At the moment, he just wondered how he was going to address this on his report ...


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Doctor gazed around the main room as the guards escorted him, Jo and Doctor Tyler inside. It was quite lavish given its location, almost akin to a palace throne room.

He glanced over at Jo who appeared as impressed as he was. "It's fabulous."

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, most impressive. I must admit that."

Tyler seemed amazed as well. "Almost worth the trip just to see this place."

Jo nodded. "Yes, but who brought us here, and why?"

"I did," a voice suddenly boomed. The Doctor lifted his gaze to find a figure standing at the top of a short staircase. "I am the one who brought you here."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized their captor. Something about him seemed oddly, vaguely familiar, but his identity was still a question in the Time Lord's mind. "Who are you?"

"In the legends of your people, I am called Omega," he answered.

The Doctor's eyes widened as some old memories suddenly resurfaced in his mind. "Omega?" he breathed. "But that's impossible. Omega was destroyed."

"No, brother Time Lord," Omega returned, his voice a bit patronizing. "I was not destroyed, as you can see." He then turned to his guards. "Take the man and the girl," he ordered, pointing to Jo and Tyler.

"Where are you taking them?" the Doctor demanded.

Omega held his hands up in a placating manner. "They will not be harmed, Doctor. They have no part in my revenge."

The Doctor watched as several guards escorted Jo and Tyler out of the room and then turned back to Omega, quirking an eyebrow at him. Revenge? For what?

"You see, I have been grievously wronged, Doctor. And now it is time for my vengeance!" he bellowed.

"Your _vengeance_ ..." The Doctor repeated, staring incredulously at him. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

"How dare you question me!" Omega retorted angrily. "Without me, there would be no time travel. You and our fellow Time Lords would still be locked in your own time, as puny as those creatures you now so graciously protect." He spit the last few words out in an exaggeratedly scornful way.

The Doctor glared at him, his jaw set. "You knew your mission was dangerous."

Omega gave a slight nod, as if conceding this. "Dangerous, yes, but I completed it and did not expect to be abandoned. Many thousands of years ago when I left our planet, all this was then a star until I arranged its detonation."

"You were the solar engineer. It was your duty," the Doctor reminded him.

"It was an honor, or so I thought then," Omega continued, a telltale bitter note in his voice. "I was to be the one to find and create the power source that would give us mastery over time itself."

The Doctor still had trouble understanding exactly what his problem was. "Well, you succeeded and are revered for it."

Omega scoffed derisively, the sound reverberating off the walls of the throne room. "Revered? Here? I was abandoned!"

"The histories say that you were lost in the supernova."

"I was sacrificed to that supernova," Omega returned, his voice rising in anger. "I generated those forces, and for what? To be blown out of existence into this black hole of antimatter?" He paused a brief moment, but his anger had not subsided. "My brothers became Time Lords, but I was abandoned and forgotten!"

The Doctor briefly shut his eyes in frustration. Reopening them, he held Omega's gaze firmly. "No, not forgotten. All my life I've known you and honored you as our greatest hero."

Omega uttered a loud, humorless laugh. "A hero? I should have been a god!" he thundered.

The Doctor turned away for a moment and sighed. "Good grief," he muttered quietly.

* * *

Jo gazed scornfully at the guards as they left her and Doctor Tyler in this supposed prison cell, the walls of which were blue. Gazing around the room, she couldn't help feeling a bit nervous about their predicament. She hoped the Doctor would convince this Omega, whatever he was, to let her and Tyler go.

"Well, they won't hold us long in here," Tyler suddenly said in an obvious attempt to reassure her. "Not in a cell without a door."

Jo nodded, conceding that was something. However, her experiences with the Doctor had taught her not to underestimate any of the alien beings they'd encountered. Something that appears to be an easy escape might not be all it seems.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be the case here as well. Right before her eyes, the open doorway suddenly shimmered. "Look!" she shouted, pointing to it. Before she could even think of sprinting out of the room, the doorway suddenly morphed into a solid wall.

Tyler headed over to it, touching its surface in apparent awe. "It's impossible!" he exclaimed. "It's a real wall!"

Jo couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Really?" She suddenly caught herself with a reminder that Tyler had never been in any of the sort of situations she had. She then looked about the room. "What kind of a place is this? And who was that creature in the mask?"

Tyler shook his head. "I don't know."

"The Doctor seemed to know him," Jo mused.

"Yes, and whoever it was knew the Doctor." Tyler then frowned. "I wouldn't say they were exactly friends, though."

Jo shook her head. "No, it seemed more like they were deadly enemies." Her lips spread into a pensive frown. "But why would the creature bring the Doctor here if they're deadly enemies? Unless he means him some terrible harm."

She suddenly realized the chances of them getting freed were probably a lot slimmer than she'd thought. Not only that, but the Doctor himself could be in grave danger. Her back against the wall, she sunk to the floor in defeat and shut her eyes, heaving a sigh.

She quickly reopened them to find Tyler sidling up to her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Come along, Jo, pull yourself together," he coaxed her softly. "No point in getting worried about this. We don't know that they're enemies. In any case, I'm sure the Doctor knows what he's doing."

She had to admit she admired Tyler for trying to cheer her up. She gave him a sad smile. "I hope you're right."

* * *

The Doctor once again took a look around the throne room, still quite impressed by his surroundings. There was one thing that kept nagging at him, though. "Well, theoretically, of course, all this is quite impossible," he told Omega.

Omega gave a brief shake of his head. "Here, Doctor, everything is possible." He extended a hand. "Be seated."

The Doctor gazed curiously at an ornate, gold chair that suddenly appeared in front of him. Giving Omega a quick nod, he sat down on it. "Thank you." He then tented his fingers, gazing up at the renegade Time Lord. "Tell me, how did you manage to survive?"

"How does anyone survive? Force of will. You might say, 'mind over antimatter.'"

A wry smile briefly flitted across the Doctor's face in response. "And this organism stuff you sent to bring us here?"

"Created from the raw stuff of matter," Omega replied. "An organism that can exist in your world and mine. It brought you here and imbued you with its properties so that you too could exist in both worlds."

The Doctor nodded, realizing his earlier assumption was correct. There was one question that still needed to be answered, though. "But how do I fit into this picture?"

Omega appeared to study him for a brief moment before answering. "There are some things that even I cannot do – not alone. At this point in my plans I need the help of a brother Time Lord."

"Oh. I see." Yes, it was clear Omega was out for revenge against the Time Lords and wanted the Doctor involved in it.

"And it pleases me to use you against them."

The Doctor certainly wasn't pleased to be used as a pawn in Omega's plan, but there was one greater issue here. "And if I give you my help, do you really think you can defeat the Time Lords? All of them?" he asked.

Omega uttered a sinister chuckle. "But I _am_ defeating them, Doctor. All of their power is insufficient to prevent the cosmic energy drain which I have caused."

"And if I refuse to cooperate?" the Doctor shot back, jaw set in a glare.

"Then you will face the wrath of Omega, you and those miserable humans who accompany you," he replied threateningly.

Before the Doctor could react, a loud beeping sound emanated from a globular, pink-colored device a short distance away. Once Omega neared it, a series of high-pitched noises chirped from within it. The Doctor assumed it was a communication device of sorts. Omega bent to listen to them closely and then straightened up.

"Investigate immediately but do not harm them," he instructed whoever had sent the message.

Probably one of his guards, the Doctor surmised. The nature of Omega's response was more important to him, though. "'Them?'" he inquired.

Omega turned to face him. "Well, Doctor, it seems that we have more company."

* * *

Still braced against the side of the TARDIS console, Jamie cautiously opened one eye. Although the place had shaken a bit violently at first, things seemed to have settled down. He was still preparing himself for any unpleasant surprises, of course.

Like that quick jolt that nearly left him sprawled atop the controls. Luckily he'd caught himself in time and had remained upright. After a few moments, everything became quiet again. Blinking, he straightened up, gazing at his friends.

"Well, we appear to have arrived," his Doctor stated.

"'Arrived'?" Jamie repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion.

The Doctor seemed at a loss to explain, and any attempt at explanation was drowned out by the Brigadier loudly trying to get through to Corporal Palmer on the radio.

"I don't think you'll get through on that thing," the Doctor told him grimly. "It hasn't got quite the range."

The Brigadier stared blankly at him, appearing quite confused.

Jamie didn't blame him. "Doctor, where are we?" he asked, nearly desperate for an answer; especially one that made sense.

"What do you mean, 'where are we'?" the Brigadier demanded, regarding Jamie with what appeared to be impatience. "We haven't gone anywhere!"

Jamie turned to find the Doctor with a somewhat pained look on his face. "I think you should prepare yourself for a bit of a shock," he said quietly.

"Can we take a look outside, Doc?" Sergeant Benton asked.

Nodding, the Doctor approached the console and turned on the scanner.

Jamie blinked as he gazed at it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was simply a view of the laboratory with the TARDIS exterior. "Well, it looks exactly the same," he said with a shrug. He then turned back to the Doctor a hint of a teasing smile on his face. "Now, what was all the panic aboot?"

"That organism thing seems to have gone, Sir," Benton added, addressing his commanding officer.

"Right. It looks quiet enough," the Brigadier replied. "Doctor, if you'll just open that door I'll go on outside."

"I really wouldn't advise it!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Jamie's eyes narrowed as he studied him. Why was he so against it? "I don' know what's got ye so worried, Doctor. It looks perfectly safe tae me."

The Doctor met his gaze, still appearing worried. After a long moment, he heaved a sigh. "Well … All right." It was obvious he was still worried, evident from the deep frown on his face as he moved to open the doors.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, I do wish you had listened to me," the Doctor muttered as the Brigadier hurried out of the TARDIS and into the lab. He then turned to acknowledge Jamie and Benton. "Come along, we'd better follow him."

Nodding, Jamie crossed the console room and exited the TARDIS behind the Brigadier, the Doctor and Benton just behind him. Gazing around, he found the laboratory looking just as it always had, certainly not out of the ordinary at all. He turned to find the Doctor looking about the room as well, an expression of quiet astonishment on his face.

"That's extraordinary," he muttered. "That stuff must have found the TARDIS a bit indigestible even without the force field on, so it swallowed a bit of the surrounding matter as well. Hmm ... Rather like taking a pill with a swig of water."

Jamie nodded thoughtfully as he watched the Doctor produce some sort of small contraption from his pocket. He gazed at it curiously, not having seen it before but decided it must be useful for something and shrugged.

He then found the Brigadier looking about the room and peering out the lab doors into the corridor. "Well, we seem to have got rid of it. Benton, McCrimmon, you stay here." Without a further word, he left the room.

Jamie scratched the back of his head in bewilderment. "Do ye really think we've moved, Doctor?"

"Oh, I'm quite sure we have."

"Well, where do you reckon we are?" Benton asked.

The Doctor eyed them seriously, hooking his thumb towards the corridor where the Brigadier was. "Not where he thinks we are."

Jamie regarded him curiously for a moment and then decided to follow the Brigadier. He'd just left the room when he suddenly stopped short, catching the door leading outside open and the Brigadier standing motionless.

He finally understood why. From his vantage, all he could see was bright blue sky and sand as far as the eye could see. It was as if they'd landed on a beach. Jamie opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. Apparently they really had traveled somewhere – not just the TARDIS, but UNIT HQ as well? The whole thing seemed completely daft.

After regarding their surroundings in shock for a short time, he followed the Brigadier back into the laboratory. The military commander looked nearly apoplectic as he walked straight up to the Doctor.

"Now see here, Doctor, you've finally gone too far!" he thundered.

The Doctor merely stared at him. "I think we all have."

Jamie turned to the Brigadier, nodding grimly.

"What's it like outside?" the Doctor suddenly asked him.

"Well, there's - sand everywhere!" the Brigadier shouted.

Smiling excitedly, the Doctor clasped his hands together "Oh, splendid! Who's for a swim?" Before anyone could react, he suddenly produced an umbrella and an inflatable beach ball from his pocket, which he handed to Jamie. "Would you blow that up for me?"

Awkwardly taking the ball from the Doctor, he caught the Brigadier's wide-eyed, murderous glare. "Er … Mebbe later," he replied, gazing uneasily in the Brigadier's direction before turning back to the Doctor with an apologetic expression as he handed the ball back to him.

The Doctor seemed to risk a glance at the Brigadier and sighed. "Hmm, perhaps not. Pity."

"Do you realize what you've done? You've stolen the whole of UNIT HQ!" the Brigadier scolded him, his patience wearing ever thin. "Now, what am I going to tell Geneva?"

Speaking of losing patience, Jamie briefly rolled his eyes and then fixed the Brigadier with a glare. "Why don' ye tell Geneva tae mind their own business?"

"Jamie!" the Doctor exclaimed in surprise. He seemed to think about it for a beat and then regarded the Brigadier contritely. "Actually, I'm afraid I agree with him. We've got this on our hands now. Geneva shall have to wait."

The Brigadier sputtered. "But … We're probably miles from London!"

"I'm afraid we're a little further than that, Brigadier," the Doctor said carefully.

The Brigadier's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "You mean we're not even in the same country?" He looked away for a brief moment, scrubbing his hands over his face. "There'll be international repercussions."

Jamie sighed in frustration. "Och, will ye quit worryin' aboot international – whatever ye just said? We've got tae figure out where we are!" he told the Brigadier desperately. "We could be on another planet!"

The Brigadier seemed to ignore him and carried on with his ranting. "This could be construed as an invasion!"

Okay, now it was getting to be too much. "An' who exactly might we be invadin'?" Jamie deadpanned.

"I agree with Jamie, Sir," Sergeant Benton spoke up. "It's not just a matter of the same country. We may not even be in the same universe."

The Brigadier seemed distracted as he turned to acknowledge Benton. "What? Oh, Benton, that's nonsense. There's a beach out there!" he protested, pointing to the view outside the door.

"Aye, but on what _planet?_ " Jamie asked slowly, raising his eyebrows for emphasis.

"Precisely," the Doctor added quietly.

The Brigadier turned towards them, the shock seeming to drain from his face although he still appeared quite skeptical. He then began pacing back in forth in front of the door. "Right, now I'll tell you what we'll do. You three stay here and see that nobody wanders in. We can't have the place overrun with holiday makers. I'll nip out, find a phone and tell the authorities exactly where we are. I'm fairly sure that's Norfolk. Back in a jiff." Before anyone could object, he'd rushed outside, shutting the door behind him.

Jamie found the Doctor staring in futility at the empty space which had been previously occupied by the Brigadier. His face was drawn with worry once again as he turned around. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" he groaned, lightly slapping himself on the side of his head.

Jamie rushed up to him, frowning. He understood the Doctor's frustration what with the Brigadier not listening to him, but he hated seeing him this way.

"Now, get a hold of yerself, Doctor," he gently scolded him as he grabbed his hand, easing it down to his side. "Ye don' want tae be doin' that." The Doctor finally made eye contact with him and took several deep breaths. He already appeared less stressed than he had moments ago. "Ye all right now? Better?" Jamie asked him softly.

The Doctor nodded, appearing grateful as he held Jamie's gaze. "Yes. Thank you, Jamie."

Jamie had begun to nod in reply when Sergeant Benton approached them. "Let's go after him, Doc," he said, hooking his thumb towards the door.

"Mm, yes, I suppose we better had," the Doctor replied in apparent resignation. Suddenly straightening up and turning back towards the lab, it a thought had just occurred to him. "Just a minute. I think I'll have another look for my recorder."

Jamie groaned inwardly. He knew what the Doctor was up to and it frustrated him. There was no point in avoiding whatever was out there. They were going to have to face it sooner or later.

The Doctor had made a beeline for the lab when Jamie and Benton reached to stop him. "Doctor, when are you going to face the facts? You've lost your recorder and that's that!" Benton admonished him.

"Oh, no, I'm sure it's in the TARDIS somewhere," the Doctor insisted. He was about to enter the room when Jamie grabbed his arm.

"No, I'll find it. Ye just wait here, eh?" He was about to enter the lab when the sight of one of those weird, red bubble-covered creatures blocking his path caused him to jump.

"Oh, my giddy aunt!" the Doctor cried behind him, shoving him away. "Jamie, get back!"

Jamie followed the Doctor as he began clumsily running from the lab entrance down the corridor, Sergeant Benton along with them. They'd just rounded the corner when …

Another creature had appeared, effectively boxing them in. "Oh, no!" the Doctor startled.

"Get back, back!" Benton exclaimed.

Jamie desperately looked about the area for something he could use as a weapon. Although these creatures had given the UNIT soldiers quite a fight back on Earth, he thought perhaps any sort of diversion might help them escape.

Not seeing anything within reach, he reached for his sgian dubh at his side. "Craig an Tuire!" he shouted, brandishing the weapon and hoping the creature would back off to give them some leeway.

The creature didn't budge, causing Jamie to shoot an apologetic gaze at the Doctor and Benton. The three looked backwards and forwards helplessly as both of the creatures hemmed them in, leaving no room for escape.

* * *

Squinting into the sunlight, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart traversed the sandy landscape. Upon further inspection, it more resembled a quarry of some sort. He scoffed inwardly, recalling how the Doctor seemed to insist this was a whole other planet. The notion was just preposterous and not only that, both Benton and McCrimmon seemed to go along with it.

He was sure everything would be answered as soon as he found a phone, or at least another human being. Then he could prove to them he was right for once and the Doctor would appear a right fool, even more of a fool than usual. He chuckled upon that last notion.

During his sojourn, he'd stopped every so often to scope out the area and find help, but his efforts proved futile. He scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully. Someone had to be out there somewhere.

As if able to read his thoughts, he suddenly heard a voice calling out. "Hey! Hey, you! Just a minute."

Turning towards the voice, he found a man with a rifle standing a bit up-gradient from him. He appeared to be a middle-aged, slightly balding man with ginger hair.

"Who are you?"

"Ollis, game warden," the man replied.

The Brigadier started, recognizing that name immediately. "Ollis? Yes, of course, the chap who found the balloon and then vanished." Well, at least one mystery here was solved. "Where are we? What's going on here?"

Ollis shrugged. "I thought you'd have told me that. They're your maneuvers."

The Brigadier frowned. "No, Mister Ollis, I'm as much in the dark as you are. Isn't there anything you can tell me?"

Ollis seemed to think for a moment as he avoided his gaze. "Well, there were two others in a daffy old motor car. A man and a girl. They went off after another fellow and all got took by those lumpy creatures."

The Brigadier lifted an eyebrow upon hearing this. 'Daffy old motor car'? A man and a girl? Could it actually be …? "What did the man look like?" he pressed Ollis.

"Er, tall, fancy getup, white hair."

The Brigadier stared at him in shock. "But that's ... What happened to them?"

"I told you! They got took by those things," Ollis insisted. "They didn't get me, though, because I'm used to moving quiet, stalking them and that."

"What, did you follow them?"

"I was just coming to that." Ollis suddenly stopped, looking around. "Look out!" He dove behind the rocks for cover, the Brigadier along with him as shots – the same shots that had come from those creatures when they'd tried to hold them off outside UNIT HQ – went off in front of them.

After all had gone quiet, the Brigadier carefully stuck his head up along with Ollis. His gaze fixed on several familiar faces a good distance away being herded along by two of the creatures.

"That's them, that's those things," Ollis told him, pointing a finger in their direction.

The Brigadier sighed. "Yes, they've got the Doctor, Sergeant Benton and the boy." Standing up, he was about to rush up over the rocks and follow them when Ollis held him back.

"Hold on now, it's no use rushing them. I know where they're bound."

The Brigadier sighed again. At least that was something. He watched as the creatures led the three of them towards a large opening in the cliff face, framed with blue. Almost like a cave of some sort.

"Now what, General?" Ollis asked, piercing his thoughts.

"First we do a recce, then we mount a surprise attack," the Brigadier told him firmly. "Mister Ollis, you will consider yourself under my orders."

He barely noticed Ollis' serious nod as he watched the group enter the opening and a pair of bronze colored doors shut firmly behind them. Looking on grimly, the Brigadier realized this might pose a bit of a challenge, depending on how many creatures were in service to whoever – or whatever – was holding them captive.

Just mere moments ago he had scoffed at the notion of being on another planet. And that was now quite obvious. Begrudgingly, he realized he owed the Doctor an apology. Not only him (or them, perhaps?), but McCrimmon and Sergeant Benton as well.

But first he needed to get them out of there.


	9. Chapter 8

**Note: I hope it's not too confusing which Doctor is speaking in this chapter in the scenes where the two of them are together. At times I dropped qualifiers like "the current Doctor" because it seemed a bit too redundant. Hopefully it's at least somewhat clear which one is speaking most of the time. *sheepish smile***

* * *

"Look. If you cannot reverse the energy drain, the fabric of the entire universe could be torn apart."

"What if it is?" Omega retorted. "It will make an interesting spectacle."

The Doctor glared at him. "Then you would be utterly alone forever."

Omega wasn't budging an inch. "I am used to solitude, and I shall have my revenge. I shall be satisfied," he said placidly.

The Doctor sighed, more frustrated than ever. It was nearly impossible to sway Omega to see his side of things and get him to stop what he was doing. This whole revenge of his against the Time Lords was an exercise in futility, but he certainly didn't see it that way.

The Doctor decided to try a different tactic. "Omega, if you would undo the harm you've done and resume your place on the High Council, you could have the freedom to do anything you wished."

Omega shook his head. "Power is the only freedom that I seek."

The Doctor barely heard him as a shuffling sound to his left suddenly caught his attention. Turning slightly in his chair, the Time Lord's jaw dropped at the sight before him.

* * *

Jamie gazed around the large, interesting room in which he now found himself along with his Doctor and Sergeant Benton after being hustled into this cave of sorts by those weird looking creatures. Turning to his right, he found a strange, tall, masked figure talking to the current Doctor.

The Doctor appeared very frustrated as this figure argued with him. Jamie couldn't follow what they were saying, but the Doctor's tone of voice made it sound quite important. Jamie began to feel frustrated on his friend's behalf and wanted to teach this Omega a lesson. Grabbing a hold of his sgian dubh, he took a few quick steps forward but was stopped by a light bop over the head. Turning, he found his Doctor shaking his head disapprovingly. Rubbing the top of his head, Jamie gave him a glare.

"Absolute power is absolute freedom. No bargains, especially not with those who have deserted me," he heard the strange figure tell the current Doctor. "No, Doctor, you are here for a reason."

He sounded as if he weren't giving the Doctor any room for compromise and Jamie felt his frustration grow. He directed his glare at Omega and then stiffened as the creature suddenly met his gaze.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Just more innocent bystanders, probably scooped up by that organism of yours," the current Doctor retorted. "Send them back, Omega. They can do you no harm."

"The organism was programmed to seek out a Time Lord," Omega said, obviously ignoring the Doctor's request, which only annoyed Jamie further.

The Doctor nodded. "And it has done so." There was a hint of a smirk on his face before he turned to acknowledge Jamie's Doctor. He watched as Omega turned sharply and stared at his Doctor.

"Can this also be a Time Lord?" he asked.

Jamie noticed his Doctor appearing insulted by the question. "Appearances aren't everything, you know!" he said brashly.

Omega uttered a chuckle. "Ah, you do not fear me," he stated slowly, sounding impressed. He circled around the second Doctor, Jamie glaring at him behind his back. Turning briefly to Sergeant Benton, he found him glaring at Omega as well.

"Can it be?" Omega continued. "Two Time Lords?" He suddenly stopped as if a realization had hit him. "Aha! The same Time Lord!" He chuckled disturbingly. "The High Council must be desperate to transgress the Laws of Time in such a way."

Jamie's Doctor glared at him. "You're making a mistake!" he protested. He then gestured to Jamie and Benton. "I was out for a stroll with my friends here, when this horrible great jelly -"

"You have tried to trick me!" Omega interrupted angrily. "I might have known the High Council would make some such pathetic attempt to deceive me."

"Now, Omega," the current Doctor cut in, attempting to intervene.

"Silence!" Omega shouted. What sounded like an ominous rumble of thunder followed, causing Jamie to wince as he looked about the room. "I must determine what shall be your fate."

"Oh, aye," Jamie muttered dryly.

"Look, is it really him?" his Doctor asked the current one, his voice barely above a whisper. "Omega."

The current Doctor nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid so," he replied just as quietly.

"Who is he?" Jamie asked. His Doctor held his finger up to his lips before gesturing surreptitiously to Omega. The creature appeared to have heard him. Oops.

"You have angered me!" he thundered. "You are facing death!" He turned to those ugly creatures, which Jamie finally realized were his guards. "Take them away!"

"We'll explain later, Jamie," the current Doctor told him quietly as he raised his arms in surrender, along with his Doctor and Sergeant Benton. Sighing in defeat, Jamie did the same just before the guards hustled them away.

* * *

Crouched in their same hiding spot plotting their strategy, the Brigadier frowned. He hated it admit it, but there wasn't much of a strategy to speak of. Ollis certainly didn't have much to contribute, even though he had the advantage of arriving here first and being more familiar with the lay of the land. He caught Ollis squinting at the large doorway, as if looking for some vulnerabilities in the rock surface, perhaps some other entrance they could use to surprise whomever had taken their friends captive.

"Did you find a way in?" he asked Ollis.

"No. You?"

The Brigadier sighed in frustration. "No. There's only one thing for it."

Ollis regarded him in curiosity. "Wot's that, General?"

"Wait till the door opens, then take them by storm. A full scale frontal attack using all the resources available."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

The Brigadier turned to him triumphantly. "That, Mister Ollis, means you and me. Come on." Scrambling up over the mounds of sand, rocks, and dirt, he headed in the direction of the cave opening, Ollis behind him.

* * *

The Doctors, Jamie and Sergeant Benton were soon reunited with Jo and Doctor Tyler inside a room whose walls consisted of gray panels framed by a series of blue and green crystals. After the guards had led them into the room, a separate wall had appeared, blocking any means of escape. Jamie looked about the room glumly, his gaze finally settling on the two Doctors who were busy discussing (or more like arguing, Jamie noticed) their predicament.

"I tell you, I practically had him won over," the current Doctor was saying. "Then you turned up and he started treating me like an impostor!"

"Well, you are really, aren't you," his Doctor retorted.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I suppose in a way we both are," his Doctor reasoned. His brow then furrowed. "Or is it neither of us?"

The current Doctor sighed angrily. "Look, for heaven's sake, stop twittering on!"

"There's no need to be offensive!" his Doctor shot back defensively.

"I'm not being offensive! The important thing is ..."

Jamie watched this back-and-forth argument like a ping-pong match. Truth be told, it was getting rather tiresome.

"There they go again," Jo said. The weary looks on both her, Benton and Tyler's faces showed they felt the same as he did.

Finally having had enough, Jamie approached them. "Look, will ye stop?! Yer s'posed tae be _helpin'_ one another!"

Yes, he'd succeeded in getting their attention. They both stopped and regarded him somewhat sheepishly.

"Yes, well," the current Doctor began, turning to his predecessor. "All right, I'm sorry. Perhaps I did speak a trifle sharply."

His Doctor looked effectively castigated as well. "Yes, well, I'm sorry, too. What did you think of this chap Omega?"

"Frankly, I thought he was somewhat confused."

"Oh, aye, an' we're still somewhat confused," Jamie said, gesturing to himself and the others. "Can ye no' answer this question, Doctors: Who is Omega?"

"Me!" they answered in unison.

"Eh?" Jamie reacted. If he thought he was confused before …

"Oh, ask Jo. There's a good lad," the current Doctor told him, waving a hand dismissively. He turned back to Jamie's Doctor. "You see, one minute he was talking about destroying everything, the next minute he's talking about freedom."

Jamie stood, quirking an eyebrow and regarding them oddly as they carried on their discussion. It seemed as though he was never going to get an answer to his question. He briefly turned to share a frustrated look with Jo, Benton and Tyler.

Finally Tyler stepped forward. Jamie hoped he be able to get an answer out of them. "Look, if this is a world of antimatter, how can it all exist?"

Well, that certainly wasn't exactly what Jamie was expecting, but if he so much as got their attention, all the better.

"The phenomenon of singularity," they answered in unison.

"Singularity?" Tyler asked.

The current Doctor turned to his predecessor. "Look, you explain it to him. You're far better at it than I am."

The second Doctor shook his head. "Oh, no, no, please. Older and wiser head."

His successor scowled in reaction for a brief moment before Tyler spoke up. "Singularity … now, I know it's supposed to exist."

"Yes, well, it does exist. Right here, I'm afraid."

Jamie looked back and forth between them, utterly confused. Tyler didn't seem to make it better. "But that's just a theory!"

Concerned he might finally lose his patience, Jamie approached them. "Now look, Doctors! What are ye talkin' aboot?"

They'd started to answer in unison when Jo cut them off. "One at a time, please!"

Both Doctors appeared sheepish for a moment before his Doctor began to explain what a singularity was: a point in space time which can only exist inside a black hole. Jamie was surprised to learn they were all now inside this black hole.

"All the known physical laws cease to exist here," his Doctor continued. "Now, Omega has got control of the singularity and has learned to use the vast forces locked up inside this black hole."

"Mm, yes," the current Doctor added with a nod. "Now, that is how Omega is able to create the world we are now in by a fantastic effort of his will. Unfortunately, he thinks he's been wronged by the Time Lords."

Jamie's ears perked up at that last mention and he turned, regarding them seriously.

"Time Lords?" Doctor Tyler questioned.

The current Doctor nodded. "Yes, and now he's hell bent on revenge."

Jamie stood, almost lost in thought. The Time Lords were involved in this? How? The thought of them once again dredged up that painful memory of himself and Zoe being taken away from the Doctor and having their memories wiped.

"Well, that's easy, you'll just have to stop him," Jo said, her voice cutting into his deep thoughts.

"Now, just a moment. Ye said this Omega fella is against the Time Lords?" Jamie asked.

"Yes," his Doctor replied as the other Doctor nodded.

Jamie shrugged. "Why would ye want tae stop him, then?"

He lifted his gaze to find the current Doctor gazing at him, eyes narrowed as if he were studying him. The look that quickly passed over his face seemed to indicate he knew what Jamie was on about: that he still held a grudge against them for what they had done. His gaze shifted to his own Doctor whose expression appeared rather blank in contrast. It dawned on Jamie that obviously he wouldn't understand; after all, this hadn't yet happened in his own time. The thought caused an ache of sadness to well up inside him and he quickly banished it. Now was not the time.

"Also, we're not sure we can stop him," his Doctor admitted.

"Who is this Omega, anyway?" Sergeant Benton suddenly spoke up. Jamie was glad someone had remembered that question. Hopefully they'd get an answer.

"A Time Lord," the current Doctor replied. "One of the greatest of all my race." Jamie's Doctor suddenly glared and gave him a quick kick to the shin. "Oh! I meant 'our race.' Sorry."

"You see, long, long ago, we learnt the secret of time travel," Jamie's Doctor explained. "But in order to make it a reality we had to have a colossal amount of energy."

The current Doctor nodded. "Omega provided that amount of energy via a fantastic feat of solar engineering. We thought he was destroyed, but instead he finished up here." He made a sweeping gesture with his hands around the room.

Jamie's gaze settled on his Doctor and found a rather somber expression on his face. "Yes, it seems his imprisonment was the price of our freedom to travel in time."

Despite their predicament, Jamie couldn't help feeling a bit sympathetic upon hearing this.

"But even so, we can't let him smash everything up," Jo piped up. "He's not all-powerful. If he was, why would he need to bring you here?"

Jamie conceded to himself she had a point. The two Doctors seemed to think this as well.

"There must be something you can do to get us out of here," Benton added.

"What aboot yer sonic screwdriver, Doctor?" Jamie asked … whichever Doctor might happen to have it with him.

"No, that's useless in this world," the current Doctor replied grimly. "The only natural law here in the law of Omega's will."

"Well, look, if Omega can will up an entire world, surely you two could will up a small door," Jo told them.

"Aye!" Jamie agreed, gesturing to the current Doctor. "Now look, yer a Time Lord, aren't ye?"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Yes."

Jamie then turned to his Doctor. "An' yer a Time Lord, too, eh?" His Doctor nodded. "In fact, yer _two_ Time Lords!"

"Well, yes," his Doctor replied slowly, as if trying to understand.

"Well, surely your wills combined are a match for his?" Jo asked, catching onto Jamie's train of thought. "Why else do you think the High Council wanted the two of you here?"

The two of them seemed lost in thought for a moment before their eyes widened in apparent realization.

"That might work. It just might," the current Doctor said quietly.

Jamie's Doctor grinned. "It's worth a try."

The current Doctor returned his smile. "Right."

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Contact," they said in unison, standing perfectly still with their eyes shut just as Jamie had seen them do earlier in the TARDIS. They'd stood in concentration for a few moments, Jamie eyeing them curiously.

"Look!" Jo suddenly exclaimed.

Turning in the direction she was pointing, Jamie's jaw went slack as he watched the far wall begin fading and an ordinary, old fashioned looking door with a knob appeared in its place.

"Ye did it!" Jamie exclaimed excitedly.

"Well done," the current Doctor told his predecessor, a smile of triumph on his face.

"I couldn't possibly have done it without you," the second Doctor returned, looking quite giddy himself. "Well, what next?"

"Now for the singularity chamber," the current Doctor replied. "That's the key to it all."

"Splendid. Come on."

The current Doctor nodded and the two of them headed for the door they'd just created.

"Wait, I'll go with ye," Jamie told them as he rushed up to them.

"No, Jamie. All of you wait here," the current Doctor replied firmly.

"But ..."

"Oh, it even opens!" his Doctor remarked excitedly as he opened the door.

"Och," Jamie growled in frustration. He was coming with them, no questions asked. There was no telling what that Omega creature might have in store for them. He headed for the door anyway and opened it, rushing out into the corridor. Suddenly feeling a pang of guilt, he turned back to Jo, Benton and Tyler still inside. He didn't feel quite right about leaving them alone in there either.

Fortunately it seemed none of them had any intention of staying there themselves.

"I'm coming, too," Tyler said eagerly. "Singularity chamber? It's the chance of a lifetime. Can't miss that!"

Jamie's lips tugged into an amused grin as the other man joined him outside and then looked at Sergeant Benton and Jo, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"What, you think we're just going to sit here while you have all the fun?" Benton said.

"Certainly not me. Come on," Jo smiled, taking his hand. The two rushed out the door and the group made their way down the corridor in the direction the Doctors had gone. Jamie turned to look back once and watched in awe as the door faded and was replaced once again by the wall.

* * *

The current Doctor gazed around Omega's now empty throne room. Near the dais, he spotted a doorway from which a mist akin to dry ice poured. He couldn't deny he felt a bit of nervousness tugging at the corner of his mind.

"Well, shall we?" his predecessor asked, also seeming a bit hesitant.

The Doctor nodded. "The bull by the horns, eh?"

"All right."

"Well, after you."

However, neither of them ended up moving. The Doctor sighed as his previous self removed a coin from his pocket.

"Shall we toss?"

"Och, I cannae wait for ye tae make up yer minds," a familiar voice spoke up just behind them. Whirling around, the Doctor came face-to-face with a certain young Scotsman with a frustrated scowl on his face. "I'll go!"

"Jamie!" his Doctor exclaimed in surprise.

Jamie rushed to move past them when the current Doctor grabbed his arm, effectively stopping him. "You're not going in there alone, lad."

"Why no'? Omega's not expectin' me."

"This is our fight. We know you want to help, but ..." He trailed off, realizing something important. "Where are Jo, Tyler and Sergeant Benton? You didn't just leave them there, did you?"

"No, I didnae," Jamie insisted. "Once we left the room, they decided tae split up. Benton an' Jo wanted tae find a way out an' find the Brigadier."

"What about Doctor Tyler?" the second Doctor asked.

"Yes, I'd have thought he of all people would be most interested in the singularity chamber."

"Aye, he wanted tae see it himself but I convinced him tae go with them. I thought he'd be safer with them."

The Doctor nodded, realizing Jamie had a point. "Well, if you insist on going in with us, stay close, all right?"

He quickly caught Jamie's nod just before the three of them headed for the next room. Located in the center of the room was a raised, round well glowing red with several steps leading up to it. Smoke could be seen rising from the well. Ah, the singularity. The Doctor stared at it, nearly mesmerized by the sight.

He gazed at his previous self who was staring at the rising column of smoke in similar awe. "Fascinating."

"What does this thing do, Doctor?" Jamie asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he leaned into the Doctor.

The Doctor found himself unable to answer. Good thing, too, because the sound of footsteps behind alerted him to an intruder.

"What?!" Omega boomed angrily. "How is it that you are free?!"

The Doctor faced him, jaw set in defiance. "By combining our wills against yours," he replied.

His predecessor nodded, assuming a challenging stance. "Yes, together we were able to break down your barriers. So you're not all-powerful after all, Omega."

"Aye," Jamie spoke up before they could think of stopping him. "Now, look. I know yer no' a fan of the Time Lords. I'm no' either, but ..."

The Doctor held up his hand, signaling him to be quiet. He had to let Omega know their terms. If he cooperated, he'd let Jamie add to their defense. "If you free us, we'll plead your cause to the Time Lords," he stated, turning back to Omega. "Otherwise, we shall combine our wills to destroy you."

"You dare threaten to destroy me?" Omega thundered incredulously. "You wish to fight the will of Omega?"

The Doctor nodded calmly. "Yes, if I must." Out of the corner of his eye, he caught his previous self giving a nod. Jamie himself seemed to be trying to put on a defiant air, but appeared a bit worried nonetheless.

Omega seemed to be mulling this over for a brief moment before his gaze returned pointedly to the Doctor. "Then you shall. But you will fight the dark side of my mind!" he declared menacingly.

The Doctor felt his eyes widen as he realized what Omega had just ordered: A mental duel. Everything suddenly went black as he felt Omega invade his mind, reaching out to attack …


	10. Chapter 9

Jo looked frantically up and down the corridors as she, Sergeant Benton and Doctor Tyler searched for the main entrance. It was no use; they were hopelessly lost. To make things worse, the guards were right behind them. If only they could find the main passage, or some other way to get outside ...

Benton sighed in frustration. "It's no good. It all looks the same."

"But we can't just stay here," Tyler protested. "They're right behind us."

Benton nodded. "This way," he said, pointing toward a passageway to their right. They'd only taken a few steps when several guards came into view, blocking the way. Benton turned to Jo and Tyler, shaking his head. "They're everywhere."

Jo nodded grimly and then found Tyler pointing down another corridor. "Let's try down there."

"Yes, come on," Jo replied, even though she was sure they had tried that way earlier.

"No, it's no use. We're lost," Benton told them.

"Well, we can't give ourselves up," Tyler said.

"Agreed. What do we do?"

After briefing looking around, Jo suddenly spotted a path which appeared to be one they hadn't taken before. "Let's try this way," she told them, gesturing to it.

The men nodded and followed her. Several paces ahead a very recognizable object caught her eye. It was the bunch of fake flowers the Doctor had conjured up earlier. "Hey, look what I found!" she exclaimed, picking it up.

"Oh, great. How can that help us?" Benton asked, the cynicism obvious in his tone.

"It's the corridor to the main entrance," Jo explained. She watched his expression brighten somewhat before she led the way. "Come on!"

She had been correct. Eyeing the main entrance mere feet away, Jo felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over her. This wasn't over yet, but their escape to freedom was now much more likely.

Sergeant Benton rushed up to the doors and began tugging at them, not having much success. "Doctor Tyler, give me a hand with this," he blurted.

Hearing a muffled sound behind them, Jo turned to find several guards hurriedly making their way toward them. "Quickly, they're coming!"

Benton and Tyler struggled to open the doors as the guards drew closer. It seemed escape was nearly hopeless when the doors suddenly swung violently open. Jo stared, slack-jawed as she found Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and another man on the other side.

"Out! Make for the hills!" the Brigadier ordered as the guards closed in on them.

Not daring to look back, Jo scrambled over the sandy, rocky surface with Benton and Tyler as the Brigadier began firing at the guards behind them. He soon joined them and directed them to an area of shelter. Jo nearly felt as if her lungs would burst as she tackled the rough terrain of the quarry, dodging fire from guards appearing just out of her line of sight. Before long, they reached an area consisting of terraces that provided cover.

"How did you know we were trying to get out?" Sergeant Benton finally asked, panting.

"We didn't," the Brigadier replied. "We were trying to get in." He then turned to Jo. "Miss Grant, was the Doctor with you when you came here?"

"Yes, of course, Sir."

The Brigadier's brows drew together. "Well, he can't have been. He was with me."

Jo regarded him in bemusement. She knew she had arrived here herself with the Doctor originally. It finally dawned on her what he must have meant when Sergeant Benton suddenly interrupted.

"Sir, look over there," he said, pointing to yet more guards heading down the path straight for them.

The Brigadier nodded. "Come on, it's just over the dune."

"What is?" Jo asked. Her question left unanswered, she merely shrugged and followed the others as they hurried away, dodging more weapons fire.

* * *

The Doctor felt weightless, as if moving through some dream-like state during this mental duel with Omega's dark side. Omega was coming at him as fiercely as he could in such a state, and the Doctor was trying to block him. It felt like a slow-motion wrestling match.

As he prepared to dodge another advance, the Doctor found himself gazing at Omega in awe. He was stunned to look upon him in his true form, without the aid of a mask or uniform. His features were rather amphibious, nearly fish-like. Perhaps the nature of his mission and the aftermath had caused some sort of mutation? The very notion made the Doctor nearly pity him. As he watched the other Time Lord draw nearer, he dashed the thought aside.

The Doctor tried to head him off and fight back as hard as he was able, but it was very difficult. Omega certainly had an advantage here, the dark side of his mind having been fostered all these years by festering anger directed at their fellow Time Lords. He was putting up quite a fight and they appeared to be equally matched at best. The Doctor was unsure how long this would continue. If he could just hold his own for a little while longer, perhaps Omega would conclude the whole exercise was pointless and call it a draw.

Then again, "a little while longer" in Omega's terms could very well amount to years. Suppressing a shudder, the Doctor assumed a defensive position as Omega hurled himself at him once again. The Doctor suddenly felt a sharp twinge in his stomach, as if he'd been dealt a heavy blow. Yet he was sure he hadn't seen Omega's fist or foot make contact with his body.

Looking around desperately, he realized he'd lost sight of Omega. That is, until he felt a hand grab his left arm, pinning it back behind him and another reach around across his face.

"Those who oppose the will of Omega shall not live! Destroy him!"

* * *

The President of the Time Lords waited impatiently for the first incarnation of the Doctor to receive their transmission. Things were really dire now and they didn't have a moment to waste.

Finally, his visage appeared on the monitor. Ignoring his bothered expression, the President breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes? Well, what do you want now?" the Doctor asked gruffly.

"Energy levels are dangerously low, Doctor," the President replied urgently. "You are our last chance. You must go in."

The Doctor appeared confused. "'In'?"

"The black hole. I repeat, you are our last chance. All three are needed to defeat Omega. We will use the last of our energy to send you through."

The Doctor seemed quite troubled by this but then sighed in resignation. "Well, better than being stuck here, I suppose. All right."

The President heaved a sigh. This was indeed their last gasp at stopping Omega. He just hoped it would succeed.

* * *

Jamie stared in horror at the current Doctor, lying on the floor and flailing about. He appeared in great pain, as if being attacked by an unseen force. Lifting his gaze, Jamie found Omega standing perfectly still. Although it was hard to tell due to the mask, he appeared to be in a trance. He must have been performing some mental mumbo-jumbo on the Doctor.

"Those who oppose the will of Omega shall not live! Destroy him!" Omega shouted.

That was enough to confirm it to Jamie. He fixed Omega with a murderous glare, his hands balling up into fists at his sides. He very much wanted to throttle this creature, but the fact he didn't know what it could do to the Doctor gave him pause. Instead, he turned toward his Doctor with a look of desperation.

"No, Omega!" his Doctor shouted. "Destroy him and you'll destroy your only chance of freedom!"

"Aye!" Jamie added. "Do ye really want the Time Lords tae win?"

Omega froze suddenly and Jamie wondered if he was actually considering all this. He shifted his gaze to the current Doctor who had been convulsing on the floor. He'd suddenly stopped, appearing distressed as he opened his eyes. Jamie and his Doctor both grabbed him, helping him sit up.

The Doctor finally got to his feet, panting. The look on his face as he gazed at Omega was a rather overwhelmed, yet grateful, one. "Thank you, Omega. A most interesting demonstration."

Omega gave a slight nod. "Be warned," he intoned ominously. "You have seen my power. You and your friends will learn it is useless to defy me."

"But our friends do not defy you!" Jamie's Doctor objected.

"Oh, yes," Omega insisted. Jamie was a bit taken aback by his relatively calm demeanor. "They are trying to escape."

* * *

Panting, Jo tried hard to keep up with the others as they ran across the rocky landscape, hopefully toward somewhere safer. She just knew those guards were all around this area and it was only a matter of time before they'd have to dodge more weapons fire.

Arriving at the top of a slight incline, she breathed a sigh of relief upon the sight that greeted her: Bessie. She never thought she'd be so ecstatic to see that car again. She suddenly felt as if she were about to collapse and Doctor Tyler had grabbed her, guiding her over the small pile of rocks separating them from the smooth surface on which Bessie was parked. She slid into the passenger seat, making room for the Brigadier.

"Where are we going?" she asked once everyone was seated.

"UNIT HQ," the Brigadier answered tersely.

"What?" She eyed him incredulously. Surely he had to be joking.

Apparently he had read her mind, given his apologetic smile. "It's nearer than you think," he said before putting Bessie into gear and driving off.

Jo gazed warily around at their surroundings, spotting guards here and there. As several shots fired around them – some a little too close for comfort – she really hoped he was right.

* * *

"So, all this exists because you have willed singularity to create it for you," the current Doctor addressed Omega, making a sweeping gesture about the room with his hands.

"Exactly."

Jamie looked on, hoping they would get closer to figuring this whole thing out and get Omega to release them. His gaze shifted to his own Doctor, who seemed less than impressed.

"I say, you mean all you've got to do is think of a thing, rub your magic lamp over there and shally me, gally me, zoop, there is is? That's jolly clever … jolly clever."

Omega turned to the current Doctor. "Are you sure that you and he are of the same intelligence?" he deadpanned.

Jamie eyed his Doctor sympathetically, but he didn't seem to take any offense. "You couldn't run me up a quick recorder, could you? It's a little thing about this long with holes in. I've lost mine, you see."

Omega simply seemed to ignore him. "I will tell you of the task that lies before you."

"It's not much to ask, it's just a small recorder!"

"Silence!"

Jamie eyed his Doctor oddly. Why was he harping so much on a recorder? He had to have some scheme cooked up. At least Jamie hoped so, else they'd be trapped here forever, not to mention look like complete fools.

"Please, ignore him," the current Doctor told Omega before turning to glare at his predecessor. "He's incorrigibly frivolous."

"Just because you're not musical -"

"Please! Will you stop interrupting?" The current Doctor snapped. He turned to face Omega once again. "Please continue."

"Continue?" Omega exclaimed incredulously. The sound of thunder suddenly shook the room and the palace began to wobble. "Do you know you face annihilation while you play stupid, childish games? You, your entire race, your precious terrestrials ..." He'd stopped and gestured toward Jamie, who glared at him in return. "Everything, and what do you do? You wrangle and babble of pipes!"

"It's not a pipe!" Jamie's Doctor retorted, sounding thoroughly insulted. Jamie groaned inwardly. If the Doctor's goal was to make Omega as angry as possible, he was doing a fine job of it. He really hoped this was part of his plan, somehow. Jamie decided this might be a good time to start thinking up his own plan …

He suddenly looked up to find both Doctors huddling together, speaking quietly. "What the hell do you think you're trying to do?" the current Doctor muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Aye, why were ye makin' such a big deal out of the recorder?" Jamie asked him.

"I'm testing the limits of his self-control," his Doctor replied. "Not very good, are they."

"No, no they're not," the current Doctor concurred. "But it'll be dangerous if you push him too far."

"Well, we'll have to risk that. That temper is his only weakness."

"What are you saying?" Omega's voice suddenly boomed, causing Jamie to jump. "Do you plot against me?"

"No, no," the current Doctor replied, holding up his hands in a placating manner. "I was just explaining to my associate here that he should show you more respect, for all our sakes."

"I am thoroughly repentant," the previous Doctor said, nodding. Jamie noticed he'd given him a quick, sideways glance and a wink. "Now, you mentioned some task."

"Yes," Omega replied. "I created this world through the power of my will. I created the organisms which brought you here. This is the source of the light stream you traveled along. I created it. Alone! Me, Omega!" He lowered his head, as if in defeat. "And it is not enough. None of it is enough. I am still trapped, as trapped as I was the moment I arrived in this desolation. Ironic, is it not?"

Jamie regarded the creature with a frown. He nearly felt an ounce of sympathy for Omega's plight and a thought suddenly came to him. "Wait a minute. If ye could send that light signal thing, could ye no' send yerself anywhere?"

Omega paused for a moment, as if not expecting the question. "Yes, so I imagined. But no, there is no way out for me. No escape."

"But why?" the current Doctor asked.

"So long as I control singularity, I can make it do my will."

"Can't ye just will yerself freedom, then?" Jamie asked him.

Omega shook his head. "It is not that simple." He then looked around the room. "All these things exist because I will them to exist. Without me and the unyielding pressure of my will, the work of thousands of years would collapse into chaos in microseconds. You might say I am the Atlas of my world."

The current Doctor seemed deep in thought before gazing back up at Omega. "So, the moment you abandon control, you cannot escape. And you cannot escape without abandoning control."

"Exactly," Omega replied with a nod. "I am a prisoner of my own power, my own creation. Or, shall I say, I was until now." Upon hearing this, Jamie felt a sick feeling of dread welling up inside him. "This is your task, to take over my burden so that I may escape."

"Mm, yes. I see," the current Doctor replied. "Would you mind if I confer with my associate and our friend here for just a moment?"

Omega nodded again, gesturing to a small corner of the room. Nodding gratefully, the three moved back and huddled together.

"So, what shall we do?" Jamie's Doctor asked.

"He's got to have some sort of weakness apart from his temper," the current Doctor mused.

"Can we no' use his anger at the Time Lords against him?" Jamie offered.

"No, that won't work," the current Doctor replied. "It's why he's done all this in the first place. It won't get him to change his mind."

"If anything his wrath will grow stronger and he could very well end up blowing up this whole place, us along with it," his Doctor added uneasily.

"Aye," Jamie said glumly. He was suddenly struck with another idea. He'd been observing Omega from the time they were brought here and noticed something interesting. Should he bring it up? He certainly had nothing to lose, especially with neither Doctor having much of a plan at this point. Although they appeared deep in conversation, it didn't seem as if they'd come up with a solution.

"Hey, Doctors, listen. I've got an idea that's crazy enough tae work -"

"Not now, Jamie," his Doctor replied before turning back to the current Doctor. "Now, you may be right, but I'm still -"

"But, Doctors ..."

"Jamie, we haven't much time," the current Doctor interrupted impatiently. He then addressed his previous self. "Can't you entertain the notion for one second that -"

Growing weary of their constant dithering, Jamie finally barged in between them. "Doctors!" he hissed.

Finally they stopped, turning to face him.

"Now, look. I've got a plan that may buy ye some time. I could escape an' find the Brigadier an' Jo tae help us. I've got a good look at Omega, ye know, an' I'm wonderin' if he really exists. Could he no' be a ghost?"

They stared at him as if he had four heads. Finally the current Doctor scoffed quietly. "I don't think that's possible, my lad. He seemed quite real the way he'd pummeled me in his mind."

"Well, mebbe so, but when he'd turn around I kept noticin' it seems there's nothing under his mask. Now, is it possible he could only exist because it's his will? Just as everything else here he created exists?"

Both Doctors still appeared skeptical until his Doctor's eyes widened in apparent realization. "Of course! The acceleration of the particles through the light stream is known to have a corrosive effect over time. If he's been here for thousands of years ..."

The current Doctor nodded and appeared to be catching on. "Yes. Perhaps his obsession with control may have something to do with it as well. He's so thirsty for power, it may have had another devastating effect on him."

"Aye, exactly!" Jamie said, feeling a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. He was almost relieved the two of them seemed to understand.

"He's a rather tragic character, but we can't stay trapped here. The last thing I'd ever wish for is to be in his situation."

"Yes," Jamie's Doctor agreed. "What shall we do, then?"

"Well, could ye distract him while I try tae escape an' meet up with the others outside? Ye could get close enough tae him to take off his mask or get him in front of a mirror. Let him see what's happened tae him."

"I see," the current Doctor said thoughtfully. "If he has indeed been reduced to nearly nothing, the shock would be devastating to him. He's a rather arrogant sort, if you hadn't noticed. He could still blow this place up."

"Aye, but by then we'll be out of there." He eyed them pleadingly. "I just need a wee bit of time tae find the others an' we'll rescue the two of ye. Get away from this forsaken place."

"You know the way out?" his Doctor asked, still with a tinge of skepticism.

Jamie nodded firmly. "Aye. I've got a pretty good idea."

The Doctors shared a look. "Well, it's the best idea I can think of at the moment," the current Doctor said.

"Agreed. It just might work," the previous Doctor said with a nod.

"All right," they said, turning back to Jamie. He nodded, eyeing them gratefully.

"Well? Your answer?" Omega suddenly interrupted.

"We will obey you, Omega."

"Yes, we have no choice."

Jamie surmised Omega looked pleased behind his mask … if there was anything behind it, which he strongly doubted.

"Then you will help me make my preparations," he heard the creature tell them as he started backing slowly away. He watched the two Doctors approach Omega, appearing to listen to his every word. Taking a last glance around the room and peeking into the next, he didn't find any guards. They were probably preoccupied with chasing down his friends outside. No doubt there had to be a few still here, but hopefully Jamie didn't have to evade many of them.

Fortunately, no one seemed to notice as he sneaked out of the room, made his way quickly through the throne room and then toward the corridor ahead. Stepping cautiously into the passage, he tried to retrace the path he took when he, the Brigadier and Benton had been brought inside by the guards. He thought he had a fair idea. Whether the way was clear from guards, that was surely something he would soon find out.

* * *

" … You will help me make my preparations. You must first remove this mask. Now you, too, will need such masks ..."

The current Doctor had briefly spotted Jamie cautiously making his way out of the room. His gaze returning to Omega, he was glad the fellow Time Lord hadn't seemed to notice. He now hoped Jamie would be able to escape without getting recaptured.

His attention refocused on Omega's words. "... But you are in no immediate danger. The process takes time. Come, the mask," Omega beckoned.

Hesitating a moment, the Doctor realized the fortunate coincidence with which they were presented. In order to buy him some time, Jamie had asked them to get up close and try to remove Omega's mask. Now here was Omega, asking them to do so.

He turned to share a look with his previous self. Apparently he'd noticed this as well. He gave a slight nod and the two approached Omega.

The current Doctor grabbed one side of the mask, his previous self the other. Examining it briefly, he found it was quite heavy and best to grab from the front. Reaching up to lift the face plate, he winced at the loud creak from its hinge. As it lifted up, the Doctor nearly felt his jaw drop to the floor. Sharing a brief look with his other self, he appeared just as shocked.

It seemed Jamie had been onto something, in a way.

"What are you doing? I am in haste to be gone!" Omega cried with impatience.

"We-we cannot remove the mask, Omega," the earlier Doctor stammered awkwardly. "Because ..."

"Because beneath that mask, there is nothing left of you," the current Doctor finished. "The corrosion you spoke of has already done its work."

"What?!" Omega exclaimed in horror. He rushed to a mirror on the wall and removed the mask completely.

"Your will is all that is left of you, Omega," the current Doctor continued. "You exist only because your will insists that you exist."

Throwing the mask on, Omega doubled over, howling wretchedly. "It is not true! I am Omega, creator of this world!" he raved, waving his arms about the room. "And I also hold the power to destroy! Therefore I must exist!"

"But don't you see? You can only exist here!" the Doctor's past self insisted.

Omega moved past them, approaching the well and singularity. He stared into the column of smoke for a moment. "If I exist only by my will," he began, his voice sounding quite tired. That soon changed as he lifted his gaze and spread his arms outward."Then my will is to destroy, and all things shall be destroyed! All things!"

As Omega shouted, the palace began to shake and bits of rock began raining down on them. The current Doctor grabbed his predecessor, gesturing for them to make their escape.

* * *

Jamie gazed at his surroundings as he tried desperately to find the exit to the cave. He was sure he knew the way at first, but had encountered a couple of guards and got thrown off course trying to avoid them. Studying the path he now found himself on, he believed he'd arrived back at the main passage … at least he hoped he had …

His foot suddenly brushed up against something soft and he bent slightly, furrowing his brow upon finding a bunch of fake flowers. He gazed at them curiously until a spark of familiarity struck him. He'd once watched the Doctor perform a trick of sorts with such a bunch of flowers. He must have been here earlier. Gazing around once again, his surroundings became more familiar and he realized he was on the right path.

Without warning, the whole place started to shake. Jamie watched as chunks of rocks from the ceiling and walls began to loosen. His first thought was the Doctors' confrontation with Omega and the likelihood they were in danger. He wanted to go back for them but realized there was safety in numbers. He along with the Brigadier and the others would be a more formidable force against Omega if it came to that.

Mind made up, Jamie strode determinedly down the corridor, finally spotting the unmistakable cave entrance just ahead. He felt his smile widen in triumph before a hard blow struck his head. Grunting, he struggled to reach the entrance, ignoring his increasingly fuzzy vision. He was about to reach the doors when he suddenly collapsed to the ground and everything went black.


	11. Chapter 10

Rushing out of the throne room and into the corridors, the current Doctor wished he could stop for a moment to get his breath, but time was of the essence. During their escape, he noticed debris falling all around them, mostly in the form of crystals and rocks from the walls and ceilings. Near as he could figure it, they only had a matter of minutes before the whole place would be destroyed … if that was indeed Omega's intention.

Finally recognizing the main path to the entrance he found it strewn with debris. The doors were just up ahead, but his eyes fell upon another sight that stopped him cold: Jamie's supine, motionless form, covered with several small rocks and other pieces of debris.

He was immediately at the lad's side, joined by his previous self. Jamie was out cold, probably hit on the head by falling debris. He felt for a pulse and quickly found one, shallow but steady. He lifted his gaze and nodded to his other self who shut his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Come on, let's get him out of here," he said, moving Jamie to a sitting position and then lifting him up, slinging Jamie's arm over his shoulder. His other self did the same and they moved as quickly to the exit as Jamie's dead weight would allow them.

Finally reaching the doors, the Doctor snorted. This was going to be a challenge. He let go of Jamie, his other self propping the boy up as he grabbed one of the doors. He was able to pry it open after some struggle, but keeping it open wasn't going to prove easy. He gazed balefully at his other self, who was clutching a large piece of crystalline rock.

"It's lovely, isn't it? I think I'd much like to have this on the TARDIS ..."

The current Doctor stopped himself from rolling his eyes as an idea struck him. "No. Give it to me. We'll use it to prop the door open."

His other self sighed dramatically. "Oh … I suppose you're right." His gaze shifted to Jamie, his expression turning apologetic. The current Doctor grabbed the large piece of rock, pried the one door open as far as he could and stuck the rock against it. Satisfied the opening was large enough for them to drag Jamie out, he managed a ghost of a smile.

The whole place rumbled once again and they could hear Omega still shouting off in the distance: "All things! All things!"

"I told you he'd got no self control."

The current Doctor sighed. "Come on. Out!" Nodding to his predecessor, they both grabbed Jamie and rushed outside.

They'd run as quickly as possible over the rough terrain, their progress hampered by the unconscious young Scot. Even worse, the Doctor thought he'd spotted several guards just out of his line of sight. Hurrying his pace as much as he was able, he led them up an incline to a familiar area. He felt his brow furrow, realizing something seemed amiss.

"That's funny. I could have sworn I left Bessie here."

"You did, old chap," his previous self said, his gaze trained on the ground. "The tracks are leading that way." He pointed and the Doctor followed his gaze, his eyes widening upon spotting Bessie and his friends.

"That's Jo and Benton."

"They'll be making for UNIT Headquarters."

The current Doctor regarded him incredulously. "What?" He part of the UNIT laboratory had arrived here with him, Jo, and Bessie. But UNIT HQ in it's entirety?

 _BANG!_ He was snapped out of his reverie by an explosion going off mere feet behind them. "Come on, let's get a move on!" They took off running again, as fast as they could with Jamie between them. The weapons fire seemed to come more frequently, and again too close for comfort. Gulping in the air of this stagnant environment, the Doctor tried to push his legs as fast as he could go. Not only was his life, and that of his previous self, at stake, but Jamie's was now as well.

They'd run about ten more yards when the familiar edifice of UNIT HQ came into view. The Doctor inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. If they could just keep up this pace and outrun Omega's guards …

He briefly gazed at the unconscious young man held up by himself and the other Doctor. No 'if.' They _had_ to.

* * *

The Brigadier felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off him as he and the others finally made it back to UNIT HQ and the lab. He headed for the TARDIS, trying to ignore the mess of voices talking over one another. Trying the door, he sighed in frustration.

"Locked. Typical," he grumbled. The sound of incessant chatter finally got on his last nerve and he turned sharply toward them. "Just one moment, if you please!" he shouted, finally getting their attention as they turned to regard him curiously. "Now, wait a moment. We may be in a somewhat unusual situation, but you two at least are still supposed to be members of UNIT." He frowned at Jo and Sergeant Benton.

"Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir," Benton replied, looking properly ashamed as he gazed at the floor.

"Yes, Sir," Jo added, appearing sheepish as well.

The Brigadier nodded briefly. "The question is this: What offensive action should we or indeed can we take against this chap Omega? In the absence of the Doctors, it seems to me that -"

He was abruptly cut off by the sound of explosions.

"Sir, listen!" Benton cried.

The Brigadier's eyes narrowed as he listened intently. "Sounds like a full-scale attack."

Jo frowned in thought. "Maybe they're not firing at us. Maybe ..." She'd suddenly trailed off and headed for the door leading outside. Curiosity piqued, the Brigadier followed and cautiously opened the door. What he saw made his jaw go slack.

"It's the Doctors! And … Jamie!" Jo exclaimed. Her expression of triumph faded into a concerned frown. "He looks hurt!"

She was right. The two Doctors were rushing away from the explosions, rather clumsily in fact, due to the fact they were holding Jamie between them. The boy didn't appear gravely injured, but he certainly wasn't moving on his own. They were going to need some help if they were going to make it back in one piece.

"All right," he announced. "Miss Grant, Doctor Tyler and Mister Ollis, you stay here. The Doctors are going to need some help. Benton, quick!"

The two men rushed outside, scrambling over the sand until they caught up to the Doctors. With a firm nod, he and Sergeant Benton took Jamie from the Doctors and raced back to UNIT HQ as the Doctors ran ahead.

"Quickly, come on," he could hear Jo's voice urgently calling from the doorway.

"TARDIS, everybody!" the Doctor's previous self cried. "Into the TARDIS, quickly!"

"But we can't all get in there!" Doctor Tyler exclaimed incredulously.

The current Doctor rolled his eyes, his expression weary despite the urgency of the situation. "Oh, good grief. Come on, inside." He waved them all inside. "Come on, Brigadier. Inside, inside!"

Briefly gazing at him in bewilderment, the Brigadier did as he asked and followed them all inside the TARDIS.

"Right. Force field on," the current Doctor barked to his predecessor.

The other Doctor quickly pushed some buttons. "Force field's on," he announced.

"Sir?" Sergeant Benton called. The Brigadier turned toward him, finding him bending to check on Jamie. "He doesn't appear badly injured. Few small bruises and he's knocked out but he should come round."

"Thank you, Benton," the Brigadier answered distractedly.

"I'll get him some water," he barely heard Jo say. Her voice seemed rather distant as he looked about the room, feeling somewhat dazed. Here he was with two versions of the Doctor, one of his officers and several civilians, two of whom technically worked for him. A whole melange of characters, hiding out from odd, jelly-resembling creatures trying to blow them up.

It was times like this that made him really miss Earth … and no, he couldn't believe he'd just thought that ...

* * *

Omega stared, his attention focused like a laser on the image before him: his Gel guards working to subdue the Doctors and their Earth friends. If they thought his palace was destroyed, they were sadly mistaken. It had sustained some damage, which the Gels had confirmed, but that could be easily repaired if need be. At the moment, he had more important plans to attend to.

He sneered as he watched the Gels surround the Doctors' machine. "Fools. Do you think to deny the might of Omega? Soon you'll come crawling to me for mercy. But by that time, your universe will no longer exist." Upon that satisfying notion, he uttered a sinister chuckle. Indeed, they would pay dearly for attempting to defy him.

* * *

Jo frowned as she knelt on the floor of the TARDIS to check on Jamie, who was still out cold. Smoothing some of his long fringe back off his forehead, she noticed he didn't have a concussion. She was relieved; the goose-egg forming at the back of his head was bad enough. She reapplied the pack of ice she'd quickly taken from the medical bay right after they all got situated in the TARDIS.

"Well, there you are, then," she heard her Doctor say. "They can't get in."

Lifting her gaze to the scanner, she could make out Omega's guards surrounding the outside of the TARDIS.

"And we can't get out," the other Doctor added, frowning.

Jo gazed at them worriedly when a faint groan got her attention. Turning, she found that Jamie had woken and appeared quite disoriented.

"Jo?" he asked as he gazed up at her, bleary-eyed. "Wha' happened?" He suddenly winced, touching his temple as if in pain.

Jo regarded him in sympathy, feeling a slight smile twitch at her lips. She offered him a cup of water, helping him drink. "Don't worry, Jamie. You're safe. We're all safe …" She drifted off, meeting the Doctors' distressed gazes. "... For now."

"Eh?" Looking more confused than ever, Jamie turned toward the Doctors as he attempted to stand. Taking his hand, Jo helped him up.

"We're besieged," the current Doctor said.

"Oh, if only I could find my recorder. I could play you all a little something to pass the time," the previous Doctor fretted.

Jamie merely stared at him and Jo caught the Brigadier's mirthless expression. "We must be thankful for small mercies," he deadpanned.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room until she caught Doctor Tyler gazing around, seemingly impressed. "Well, this TARDIS of yours is a real marvel, Doctor. I still don't understand how we all got inside it, but I don't wish to spend the rest of my life in it."

Jo had to admit he had a point. "True. We can't just stay here forever."

"Come on, Doc," Sergeant Benton spoke up. "Can't you think of something to nobble this Omega bloke? Surely with two of you, you should have twice the ideas."

The second Doctor regarded him with an incredulous stare. "'Nobble' him? My dear fellow, you're talking about one of the most powerful blokes in the cosmos. 'Nobble' him? Oh, dear ..."

The rest of his statement was drowned out by the sound of an alarm. Jo turned to Jamie who, in his still slightly disoriented state, appeared distressed as he looked around. Jo reached out to steady him, looking toward the source of the alarm.

"Excuse me. Someone's trying to get through to us," the current Doctor said, his voice sailing above the sound of the alarm.

"You don't think …?" the second Doctor began, gesturing to the scanner.

"Oh, not him," Jamie groaned. It was obvious he was referring to the other Doctor, the first one who had addressed them gruffly on the scanner at the start of all this.

"No, I hardly think so," the current Doctor muttered.

He was proven wrong as the familiar image of the first Doctor appeared on the scanner. "There you are, then," he greeted. He appeared to be studying them."What's all this, a mass meeting?"

"Well, we had to bring them all in here," the current Doctor replied defensively. "It wasn't safe outside."

"Hm. In a pretty pickle, aren't you?" He smirked. "Trapped in your own TARDIS!"

"You're one to talk, trapped in your own bubble!" the second Doctor shot back, glowering at him.

Jamie set his jaw, glaring at the image on the scanner. "So that's why ye called, eh? Just tae mock us? Why don' ye come down here yerself an' help if yer so smart?!"

"Oh, I see you've still got that ill-mannered Scotsman along," the first Doctor noted glibly.

"Listen, you just watch yer lip, or..."

"Jamie, please," the second Doctor admonished him softly.

Jo gazed at her Doctor, who seemed to be trying hard to ignore them. "What have you called to talk to us about?" he asked the first Doctor.

"Unfortunately, talk's all I can do, and not much of that."

Jo heard Jamie sigh next to her. "Thank the Lord fer that," he muttered dryly. Jo couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face.

"They've nearly exhausted all their energy and the transference isn't stable," the first Doctor continued. "Let's get on with it, eh?"

"On with what?"

"Putting our heads together and finding a solution," the first Doctor replied. "Ready?"

Jamie seemed a bit nervous as he turned to the current Doctor. "What are ye gannae do, Doctor? Is he tricking ye?"

"No, everything's fine, Jamie," he replied. "We're just going to do what we did earlier."

"Yes, the joining of our minds," his Doctor added before acknowledging the Doctor on the scanner. "Ready."

"Ready," the current Doctor echoed.

"Contact," they all stated in unison.

Jo watched as the three of them appeared deep in concentration for several moments.

"We're all agreed, then," the first Doctor finally said. "Risky, but it could work. I'll report back."

His image quickly faded away and Jo turned toward the two remaining Doctors, both with nervous yet hopeful expressions on their faces. She hoped they'd come up with some plan to defeat Omega.

* * *

"What are ye gannae do?" Jamie asked, gazing at the Doctors.

"We'd have to strip down the force field," the current Doctor replied.

"Which would leave the TARDIS defenseless," his Doctor added uneasily.

"What?" Jamie's voice rose incredulously.

"It's a risk we'll have to take," the current Doctor conceded.

Jamie frowned. He really didn't like the idea of them being left with no defenses and was nearly skeptical they could pull this off. He lifted his gaze to find his Doctor grinning. "It's worth a try! Come on!" he prompted the current Doctor.

The two of them rushed over to the console and knelt down, setting to work underneath it. Their enthusiasm caused a smile to tug at the corners of Jamie's mouth. They certainly seemed optimistic they could pull this – whatever it was – off. Jamie had always trusted the Doctor and had no reason to doubt him – either of them – now.

"Now, what was that all about, Miss Grant?" he suddenly heard the Brigadier say.

"Another telepathic conference, I think," she replied.

Jamie regarded him in sympathy. He looked no less confused than before. "All three of them. Ugh," he sighed. "Doctor?"

"Yes, what is it?" the current Doctor spoke up.

"Would you mind telling us laymen what you're so excited about?"

"We think we've found a way of dealing with Omega," the current Doctor explained.

Jamie stared at him in shock. "But I thought ye defeated him! His … palace or whatever it is was shakin' an' fallin' apart, remember?!"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, it was merely a casualty of his arrogance. Nothing more than a slight tantrum. He's still there and we've still got to deal with him."

"Mind telling me how?" Doctor Tyler asked.

"Later, old chap. If there's still time," the Doctor answered dismissively.

"Aye, well that's just great," Jamie replied, sharing an annoyed look with Tyler.

The current Doctor suddenly seemed concerned as he gazed at his predecessor. "How do we know he'll take the generator? What if he should refuse?"

Jamie turned toward his Doctor, who was busy rummaging near the base of the console again. "Ah, I've found it," he announced triumphantly.

"Found what?" Jamie asked.

"My recorder," his Doctor replied with a large grin. "It must have been there all the time."

Jamie bent down to see what he was referring to. It turned out the Doctor's recorder was part of some contraption in the console stand.

"Right in the center of the force field," his Doctor continued, amazement still in his voice.

Jamie backed up to allow the current Doctor a view of the thing."Well, don't touch it." He stopped, eyeing the thing curiously. A realization seemed to have struck him and he turned to his prior self. "Don't you understand? It's exactly what we want! Far better than the force field generator."

The giddy smile on his Doctor's face turned into a startled, almost panicked, frown. "Oh, no, not my recorder!"

The current Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, good grief," he muttered.

Jamie approached him. "Doctor, I know it's yer recorder, but can't ye jus' make another one? We've got tae defeat this beastie!"

He was faced with a pair of sad blue eyes that made the ancient Time Lord resemble a wee four-year-old boy. "Oh, but Jamie, my _recorder_ ..." he sniveled.

The current Doctor sighed in frustration. "Look, will you listen to him? I'll get you another one, I'll get you a hundred, perhaps even a thousand of them!"

Jamie nodded insistently as his Doctor turned to face them.

"Oh … All right," he said at last, causing Jamie to smile.

"Come on," the current Doctor prompted him, gesturing to the device. Jamie watched them resume fiddling with it. At last they rose, presenting the contraption with his Doctor's recorder wired up in the middle. Jamie regarded it curiously. Would it be instrumental in defeating Omega?

"Here we are, then. This should do the trick," his Doctor told them, smiling almost proudly.

The Brigadier quirked an eyebrow as he stared at it. "I suppose it would be too much to ask for someone to tell us what this all means."

The current Doctor regarded him pointedly. "It means, Brigadier, that we can now strike a bargain with our friend Omega."

The Brigadier appeared incredulous. "With that box of tricks there?"

"And a flute?" Jo added. Jamie tried to bite back a grin as he caught the indignant scowl that briefly flitted across his Doctor's face.

"This box of tricks, as you call it, is a kind of portable force field," the current Doctor continued.

"And the recorder is considerably more than just a flute," his Doctor added. He then handed the device to Doctor Tyler. "Here, if you'll just hold this."

Tyler nodded eagerly. "Oh, splendid, yes."

"Right. Switch on," the current Doctor directed his past self, who switched on the scanner. "Omega, we want to talk to you."

Within moments, the all-too-familiar countenance of Omega appeared on the scanner screen. "I hear you, brother Time Lords."

"We think we have discovered a way to give you back your freedom. Will you now free the TARDIS so that we can come to you?"

Omega paused, seeming dubious. "Is this some deceit? You cannot escape my world unless I will it!"

"Oh, no," Jamie groaned tiredly. He gazed at Omega in frustration as he approached the scanner. "Now, look, it's _no'_ deceit, we jus' -"

The current Doctor placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder and quickly turned to face him, shaking his head. "No, not a bit of it, old chap," he said reassuringly as he turned back to the scanner. "We just want to avoid a long, tiring walk, that's all."

Omega seemed to consider this and at last nodded. "Very well. Come to me you shall!"

The Doctor nodded. "Right." He then turned to regard Jamie and the others. "Now, listen to me, everybody. From now on you are to do exactly as you are told."

Jamie contorted his face in confusion. "Eh?"

"Why? What's going to happen?" Jo asked.

"Now, Jo, please do as I ask. All of you."

"I dinnae understand, Doctor. What do ye want us tae do?"

"Don't question it, Jamie. Just do as I ask!" the current Doctor told him sharply. He heaved a sigh. "Do you promise to do exactly as I tell you?"

Jamie stared at him, slack-jawed. What on Earth was he on about? Whatever it was, it had to be serious and Jamie didn't want to foul it up. "Aye, I promise."

"Me too," Jo said, her gaze dropping to the floor.

The Doctor forced a quick smile. "Good. Are you ready? Stand by. Here we go."

Doctor Tyler gave the previous Doctor the device back and Jamie soon felt the familiar sensation of the TARDIS dematerializing, beginning its journey to Omega's hideout.

* * *

Exiting the TARDIS, the current Doctor turned to give the group a final look of reassurance as he led them out into Omega's singularity room. He could see the renegade Time Lord standing at the corner of the room, appearing none too pleased despite his disguise.

"Do you think this trickery will save you for long?" he said menacingly.

The Doctor regarded him as a parent dealing with a petulant child. "We have come to set you free." He paused, gazing pointedly at Omega. "On one condition."

"I make the terms, Time Lords!" Omega demanded.

The Doctor gave him no quarter. "Omega, if you will send these people back to where they came from, we will stay and help you," he explained calmly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he found Jamie staring in shock and ready to protest. That is, until Sergeant Benton reached over to restrain him. Good old Benton, the Doctor thought. As deeply as he cared for Jamie, any outbursts would be detrimental to their bargaining with Omega.

"We think we have devised a way of restoring your freedom to you."

Omega cocked his head slightly. "What way? I know now that you cannot give me my freedom, but you can keep me company in the endless years that lie ahead. If you will both stay here willingly and share my exile, then I will spare your friends and their universe."

The Doctor nodded. "We shall give you that promise, Omega. We will not attempt to leave this world before you do."

"What?" Jamie suddenly exclaimed, a look of horror on his face.

"Doctor, you can't!" Jo cried.

The Doctor turned sharply towards them. "Jamie! Jo! You promised!" he hissed.

Fortunately, Omega didn't seem to be protesting. "Go, then, back to your planet," he told them. "Be gone, and give thanks that Omega is merciful." He then turned and slowly walked out of the room.

Turning back to the group, the first thing the Doctor noticed was the expression of barely contained rage on Jamie's face as he gazed at the area formerly occupied by Omega. "Oh, give thanks that yer _merciful_ , eh?! Wha' mercy might _that_ be?!" he cried in an exaggerated, sarcastic tone.

"That'll do, Jamie!" his predecessor scolded him. The Doctor himself was thankful that Omega didn't seem to hear the young Scot.

"Doctor, what shall we do?" the Brigadier asked.

The current Doctor thought for a moment, his gaze settling on the singularity in the middle of the platform just beyond them. "Brigadier, I want all of you to step through that column of smoke," he replied, gesturing to it.

"What?" the military commander responded, nearly gaping at him.

The Doctor felt a disarming smile tug at his lips. "Don't be alarmed. It won't harm you. On the contrary, it will take you back home."

The Brigadier still seemed hesitant. "Please, Brigadier. It's the only way," the Doctor's earlier self added.

"Well, I don't know what you're up to, but all right." He turned to Mister Ollis. "Now, Mister Ollis?"

The other man gazed frightfully at the column of smoke. "No, not me. I'm not going in there."

The Brigadier turned to Doctor Tyler, gesturing for him to go through. "Doctor Tyler?"

Tyler appeared skeptical as well. "Are you sure it's all right?"

"Yes, of course I'm sure," the Doctor insisted.

Tyler gazed uncertainly at the singularity before finally walking up the steps to the well, stepping over it, and then disappearing into the column of smoke.

"Hey, he just -" Jamie blurted in disbelief, pointing at the space Tyler had just left.

Ollis seemed to get over his fear and followed Tyler through. "Benton," the Brigadier nodded to the Sergeant, gesturing toward the singularity. Benton also seemed hesitant, but stepped through as well. "Now then, Miss Grant," he said, turning to Jo.

"No! I want to stay with the Doctor," she protested.

"Please, Jo," the Doctor encouraged her calmly. A fond smile spread across his face. "You'll be all right. Trust me." He watched the Brigadier extend his hand to her. After looking from him to the Brigadier and back, she took a deep breath and nodded, finally taking the Brigadier's hand and walking up the steps. The Doctor gazed sadly at her before she finally disappeared into the smoke.

Well, that was just about all of them. Gone back safely to Earth. Only the Brigadier remained and the Doctor knew he would follow. Turning away from the singularity, he noticed Jamie didn't seem intent on budging, due to the stubborn way his feet were planted. The Doctor was about to talk some sense into him when he caught the look of desperation on his face. He heaved a sigh. This wasn't going to be easy …


	12. Chapter 11

"But Doctor, I dinnae want tae go back!" Jamie cried desperately. "I want tae stay with you! … With _both_ of ye!"

The current Doctor sighed, regarding Jamie in frustration. He hated to be like this. The expression on Jamie's face reminded him of the way he looked when he was forced to leave him the last time, thanks to the Time Lords. That expression made his hearts ache but he tried desperately to ignore it. He was well aware of Jamie's undying loyalty – hell, he wouldn't be Jamie without it – but he wanted the lad to be safe. This fight was one only to be fought between himself and Omega.

"It'll be all right, Jamie," he told the young Scot. "I'm fine." He suddenly felt a soft kick to his shin and turned, finding his previous self eyeing him expectantly. "We're fine," he amended his statement.

"But _Doctors_ -"

"Really, Jamie. We know you wish to help, but there's nothing left for you to do here," the previous Doctor insisted, his tone as tactful as possible as he gave Jamie a sad smile and slight pat on the shoulder. He then gestured toward the well from which the singularity rose. "Now, go up those steps and into the mist, there. You'll arrive straight back on Earth with Jo, Sergeant Benton and the others."

"But what aboot you?" Jamie asked, not letting up.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll be just fine," he replied, turning to the current Doctor with a sly wink.

Suppressing a chuckle, the current Doctor smiled. "We'll see you all later." He nodded to Jamie and pointed to the well. "Now, there's a good chap."

Appearing quite frustrated as he looked them over, Jamie eventually sighed and reluctantly plodded over to the well where the Brigadier was standing, waving him through. The Doctor noticed Jamie shooting the military man a look, which was answered with a quick, forced smile.

"After you, McCrimmon," he told Jamie. Jamie took another deep breath and then slowly walked into the smoke and vanished.

The Doctor finally released the breath he was holding, feeling an enormous weight being lifted off him. He then met the Brigadier's gaze as the man nodded in their direction.

"Goodbye, Doctor … Doctors," he declared with a thin smile. He walked up the steps and then turned to salute them both, just before disappearing into the smoke himself.

The Doctor stared at the space which had formerly occupied each of his friends. He was beyond relieved they were now safe back on Earth with the others, but was saddened they all somehow thought this was goodbye.

"So, brother Time Lords," Omega's booming voice interrupted his reverie. "I have played your game. Now it is your time to play mine." He raised his voice threateningly. "And there can be no escape for any of us!"

The second Doctor sneaked into the TARDIS, returning with the device they'd put together with his recorder in the center. "You are wrong, Omega. You can have your freedom," he stated firmly, holding up the device. "It is here."

Omega cocked his head toward the device. "What is this childish contraption?"

"The only freedom you can ever have," the previous Doctor replied. He held it up higher. "Take it. Take it, Omega."

The current Doctor caught a surreptitious nod from his previous self. Closing their eyes, they put their heads together once again, deep in concentration.

After a short time, he heard Omega's menacing laughter and glared at him, setting his jaw. "Take it!" he ordered Omega, pointing to the device.

"Commands?" Omega cried incredulously. "You command me? This is my world! _I_ command! And you pester me with trinkets!" He clumsily waved his arm around, knocking the device to the floor.

The Doctor felt his eyes widen as it began sparking and quickly emitted a growing, bright light.

The portable force field was fizzling. They really needed to go.

"Run!" his previous self cried.

Nodding quickly, the Doctor made for the TARDIS. "Come on, quick!"

The last thing he heard was Omega shouting in terror as a bright light engulfed the entire area.

* * *

 _Time Control_

The President looked about the now darkened room, fretting. The power drain had used up most of their resources and they couldn't even keep the lights on. They also had no power to act, only observe. He hoped the Doctors would be able to come up with a way to resolve this. The first Doctor had spoken to them earlier, informing them of a possible solution. He really hoped they were able to make good on it.

His gaze drifted over to the monitor and he felt his eyes widen. The black hole had disappeared and was replaced by a new, bright star. He stared at it in awe, barely noticing that the lights had come back on. The Time Lord sitting at the monitor looked at him in disbelief. Gazing once again at the new star again, a realization suddenly hit him.

"Another source of energy," he muttered. "Once again, Omega."

It seemed Omega was the source of this energy, but how? It had to be the Doctors. The President smiled as he thought of them, grateful that they had managed to resolve this crisis once and for all.

Perhaps they should repay him … his most current form, that is.

* * *

"Agh!"

Moments ago, Jamie had reluctantly left the Doctors in Omega's palace, walking through all that mist they called a "singularity." He'd now fallen into what appeared to be the UNIT laboratory with such an abrupt suddenness, he thought he'd got whiplash. He was just grateful he'd landed on his feet. Looking around the room, he found Jo, Sergeant Benton, Doctor Tyler, and the Brigadier were here as well. Were they really back on Earth?

"We're back!" Benton exclaimed, rushing to the window.

"Well, we certainly seem to be," Tyler remarked, a note of skepticism in his voice.

"But we're really back," Benton insisted as he peered out the window.

Jamie quickly joined him and his mouth dropped open at the sight before them: the same old, familiar scenery around the building. "Aye, we are!"

"But the Doctors," Jo piped up. Approaching them, Jamie felt his smile fade as he turned toward her and caught the worried expression on her face.

"Oh, I dare say they'll turn up as usual," the Brigadier remarked, sounding less than optimistic.

Jamie briefly met Jo's gaze before she began sobbing with her head in her hands. Jamie put his arms around her and held her, trying to comfort her as much as he was able, given his own worried state. He wished he could have stayed with the Doctors. Having to leave them this way dredged up awful memories of the time he was forced to leave 'his' Doctor. Before he had left them just now, they'd told him they would be all right. He didn't like to doubt them, but he really hoped that was the case.

"Wonderful chap, both of him," the Brigadier continued. His comment only resulted in making Jo more upset and Jamie shot him a glare of disapproval.

Suddenly piercing the room was an old, familiar whirring sound, followed by the materialization of a certain blue police box. Could it really be …?

"The TARDIS!" Jo cried.

Jamie heaved a sigh, allow himself to feel just a bit relieved. He wouldn't rest completely until he knew the Doctors were all right, however.

It turned out he had nothing to worry about.

"Well, I told you he had no self-control, didn't I?" spoke the voice of the current Doctor just before the two of them emerged from the TARDIS, not a scratch on either one of them.

"Doctors!" Jamie exclaimed.

"How did you manage it?" a bewildered Doctor Tyler asked.

"By the skin of our teeth," Jamie's Doctor replied. He suddenly looked about the room. "Where's Mister Ollis?"

"Oh, back where he came from, I imagine," the current Doctor mused before addressing the group. "So, there you are. Omega's will was like the tension in elastic. Once that will was broken, all the bits of Earth, UNIT and so on just snapped back right into their proper place."

"But how come you turned up in the TARDIS?" Sergeant Benton asked.

The previous Doctor smiled. "Because that was the proper place for us."

Jo still seemed confused. "What was all that business about the flute?"

"Well, as you know, it accidentally fell into the force field on the TARDIS," the previous Doctor began. "So when we were all transformed into antimatter, that was the only thing that wasn't processed."

The current Doctor then took over. "And when Omega knocked it out of our hands and it fell out of the force field, all the atoms and the anti-atoms annihilated one another."

Doctor Tyler nodded thoughtfully. "So, big bang and the black hole becomes a supernova."

The current Doctor smiled thinly. "Exactly."

Everyone nodded once again in thought until Jamie caught a disappointed expression on his Doctor's face.

"Pity, though. I think it had a lovely tone."

Jamie rolled his eyes and was unable to contain the grin that twitched at his lips. "Och, will ye knock it off aboot the recorder, Doctor?" he said, approaching him. "We're jus' glad yer both all right!"

"Yes, I suppose you're right," his Doctor replied with a nod and a sheepish smile.

Any attempt Jamie made to reply was cut off by a sound coming from the TARDIS. "Everything okay?" a familiar voice called out.

The group exchanged looks before rushing back into the TARDIS. There on the scanner appeared the first Doctor, gazing at them inquisitively.

"Well, here we are, back safe and sound," the current Doctor told him.

Jamie's Doctor nodded. "Quite a party," he added.

"Yes, well, the party's over now," the first Doctor stated curmudgeonly. "You young man and I go back to our time zones."

Jamie felt his face fall upon hearing this and he gazed sadly at his Doctor.

"Though, considering the way things have been going, well, I shudder to think what you'll do without me," the first Doctor continued, the arrogance unmistakable in his voice.

Jamie glared at him. "Aye, well, I think they can manage just fine without ye," he retorted. The Doctor didn't seem to have heard him as his image faded from the scanner … for the last time, Jamie hoped.

Turning to his Doctor, he found the Time Lord appearing a bit uncomfortable as he took a deep breath. "Well, everybody … Um ..." He motioned Jamie over to him and, probably sensing he didn't want anyone to hear, the rest of the group moved back. "Jamie, I have to say this certainly has been an odd situation."

Jamie snorted dryly. If that wasn't an understatement …

His Doctor gazed at him apologetically. "No, not just everything with the black hole and Omega, but …" He gestured vaguely to Jamie. "Again, I'd only seen you moments ago in my own time. And I certainly didn't expect to see you still here."

Jamie quirked an eyebrow at him, wondering if the Doctor had meant it to come out that way.

"Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing, mind you," he blurted sheepishly. "It's actually rather good to see you're still with me in a way." He smiled fondly before his expression turned a bit awkward once again. "So, I suppose you're managing just fine."

Jamie grew a smile. "Aye."

"Jamie? Is anyone there?" a female voice called out from inside the laboratory. Jamie felt his smile broaden as he recognized the voice.

"Aye! We're all in here," he called out. "Don' worry, everythin's fine."

He nodded to his Doctor, gesturing to the controls to open the TARDIS doors. The Time Lord regarded him curiously for a moment and then did as asked. Jamie soon found Kathryn tentatively sticking her head inside.

"What's going on? Are you all okay?"

The current Doctor, Jo and Benton had greeted her, but Jamie had barely heard them as he motioned for Kathryn to come over and smiled affectionately at her. He then turned to his Doctor, who was regarding the girl with what appeared to be polite curiosity.

"Doctor, this is my girlfriend, Kathryn," he introduced her. "Kathryn, this is the Doctor. Er … I mean, the Doctor I'd traveled with some time ago."

He watched as Kathryn smiled shyly at the Time Lord and reached out to shake his hand.

"It's splendid to meet you, my dear," his Doctor told her, a warm smile on his face as he enthusiastically shook her hand. He then looked back at Jamie. "Ah, yes, I would say you're managing just fine, then," he said with a knowing smile and small wink.

Slipping his arm around Kathryn's shoulder, Jamie beamed. "Aye, I am." A sudden thought came to him. "Oh, an' I've even learned tae drive. I got my driving license a year ago." Reaching into his sporran, he pulled out his license and held it up to the Doctor, smiling proudly.

A worried frown suddenly appeared on his Doctor's face. "Oh, that's … splendid, Jamie." He then looked away nervously. "Oh, dear ..."

Jamie felt his own smile turn into an insulted scowl. "Hey! What's so bad aboot me driving?" he demanded.

The Doctor still avoided his gaze. 'Oh, nothing. Nothing at all," he muttered.

Jamie glanced down to see Kathryn with an apologetic smile on her face and rubbing his shoulder.

"Now, just a moment. I can vouch for this young man's driving skills," the current Doctor suddenly broke in, sauntering up to them. Jamie watched his Doctor turn and eye him with some skepticism. "Oh, yes. In fact I even taught him on Bessie. Now, surely I wouldn't have allowed him to do that if I didn't trust him." He smiled, briefly turning to Jamie and giving him a quick wink.

Jamie's Doctor seemed to have some leftover skepticism, judging from the tentative smile on his face as he nodded. "Oh, that's just splendid." Jamie stared at him before he watched a grin break out on his Doctor's face and realized he was having him on. "No, I'm serious. Congratulations, Jamie. It pleases me to see you doing so well, even after 'we' stopped traveling together."

Jamie felt his frown soften into a grateful smile. "Thank ye, Doctor."

His Doctor returned the smile and then looked away once again. "I still wish I knew the circumstances surrounding that," he muttered.

Jamie turned to find the current Doctor smiling at him in amusement. "Well, neither of us are going to tell you. Not with the risk of violating the Laws of Time, which, need I remind you, were already violated enough today."

Jamie's Doctor sighed dramatically. "I know, I know. Can't rewrite history."

Smiling once again, the current Doctor patted him on the shoulder. "There you are, old chap."

He nodded, smiling once again at Jamie. "If anything, I'm heartened by the fact that you are still here with me – er, him. For too long I've had companions who stayed such short times, either by their own choice or not. So, yes, it pleases me, Jamie, to see you here."

Jamie felt his smile falter a bit, as it occurred to him that he and Zoe hadn't yet been forced to leave this Doctor, at least from the point in his own time from which he was plucked by the Time Lords. He sighed, trying to think of what to say. "Aye. 'M still here. An' I remember somethin' ye'd once told us. Aboot how time is relative."

His Doctor gazed at him a bit oddly, as if wondering what that had to do with anything. "Oh, yes, I did say that once."

Jamie nodded. "Jus' remember, whatever happens ..." Before he could continue, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Jamie lifted his gaze to find the current Doctor eyeing him cautiously, shaking his head. Instead, Jamie turned to his own Doctor and smiled. "Jus' remember, both of ye are still the Doctor."

He watched the two of them turn to each other, the current Doctor with a look of disapproval on his face. "Mm, yes," he remarked dryly. Jamie's Doctor quickly scowled at him.

It soon became obvious to Jamie that they were joking, their discontent expressions melting into smiles as they turned back to him, both patting him on the shoulder.

"Say, before I go," his Doctor suddenly interjected. "Have you seen Zoe anywhere? I suppose she no longer wanted to carry on with you and … er … me."

Jamie eyed him hesitantly. He certainly didn't want to tell the Doctor about her mind having been wiped, and he didn't want to go into the whole story about how he and the much later incarnation of the Doctor had gone back to see her on the Wheel. Perhaps he could stretch the truth, in a way ...

"Aye, she's no' really involved with us anymore. But I did see her not long ago an' she's happy," he said carefully.

His Doctor seemed a bit disappointed, but smiled nonetheless. "I'm glad she's happy and that you've seen her. I suppose you haven't seen Victoria at all ..."

Jamie felt himself smile. "Aye, actually I have seen her, quite a lot. She's verra happy. She's even gettin' married to a nice fella soon."

His Doctor's bushy eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh," he said quietly. He appeared to let this information sink in for a brief moment and then the warm smile was back. "I'm very glad to hear it. I know that dear girl had tired of life on the TARDIS and wanted to stay back on Earth. I'm very pleased to hear she's doing so well."

He sighed in apparent resignation. "Goodbye, Jamie. I … er … will see you soon."

Jamie felt the corner of his mouth twitch into a lopsided, awkward smile as he shook the Doctor's hand. "Aye," he said with a slight, uncomfortable chuckle.

His Doctor then turned to the rest of the group. "Well, goodbye, everybody. Goodbye. It's been so nice to meet me," he said as he shook the current Doctor's hand.

"Yes, I see what you mean," the other Time Lord said dryly. "I hope I don't meet me again."

"Ah," Jamie's Doctor returned, grinning in amusement. He then took a step back and, after a final wave, slowly disappeared.

Jamie watched as his Doctor's body faded, feeling a bit sad considering what eventually awaited him but knowing there was nothing he could do about it. He felt a hand rubbing his arm and turned to find Kathryn, smiling at him. He finally felt his lips twitch into a smile of his own.

"Now I've seen it all," Doctor Tyler suddenly remarked.

"Pity. He was so sweet," Jo said thoughtfully.

"Yes, he was," Kathryn said, nodding.

"I certainly was, wasn't I?" the current Doctor agreed with a grin. Jamie fought the urge to roll his eyes, although couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face as he witnessed Jo rolling hers.

"Yes, well, as far as I'm concerned, Doctor, one of you is enough," the Brigadier said tiredly. "More than enough." He then turned to Benton. "Sergeant Benton, you and I'd better make a full inventory of the HQ. Make sure everything's back in place. It's all got to be accounted for, you know."

Benton appeared slightly confused. "Well, excuse me, Sir, but … if anything is missing, where do we say it's gone?"

The Brigadier glared at him. "Don't ask questions, Benton. Just come along."

The two men exited, leaving them with Doctor Tyler who thanked the Doctor for a fascinating trip before saying goodbye and leaving himself.

Jamie turned to find the Doctor sighing and looking a bit despondent. Jo seemed to have picked up on it as well.

"What's the matter, Doctor? Everything worked out all right, didn't it?" she asked him.

The Doctor sighed again. "Yes, for us."

She turned to Jamie, sharing a knowing look with him. "I know what it is," she said, turning back to him. "It's because you had to trick Omega."

"I didn't exactly trick him," the Doctor told her. "I promised him his freedom and I gave it to him. The only freedom he could ever have."

"Well, what else could ye do?" Jamie asked. "It was either him or everything." He turned to find Kathryn gazing at him, lost in confusion. He gave her an apologetic smile and mouthed 'later.'

There was a sudden sound much like the TARDIS materializing, and a strange shaped object suddenly appeared on top of the column in the middle of the TARDIS console. Jamie eyed it curiously. "What is this contraption, Doctor?"

The Doctor appeared gobsmacked. "The Time Lords!" he exclaimed. "They've sent me a new dematerialization circuit." He suddenly stared into space for a moment. "And my knowledge of time travel law and all the dematerialization codes, they've all come back!" He gazed at the three of them in awe. "Do you know what this means? It means they've forgiven me. They've given me back my freedom."

"So, ye can just rush off into time an' space like ye used to, now?" Jamie asked.

"No, not straight away, my lad," the Doctor told him. "Of course not. I've got to build a new force field generator first." With that he bent behind the console, seemingly already busy at work.

Jamie turned to both Jo and Kathryn, sharing an amused look with them and gesturing for them all to leave the TARDIS.

"So, it seems you've had quite a day, then," Kathryn mused.

"Aye," Jamie sighed. "An' I don' think ye'd believe me if I told ye."

She quirked an eyebrow at him and grinned. "After some of the things we've been through? Try me."

"Well, all right," he conceded with a chuckle. His stomach suddenly growled loud enough for everyone to hear. "Och, what time is it? I'm fair famished."

"Why don't we get some dinner and you can tell me all about it," Kathryn said, slipping her arm through his.

"Er, in that case we'd best do takeaway at yer place. Don' want anyone starin' at us."

Kathryn giggled. "That sounds fine to me." After saying goodnight to Jo, they made their way out of UNIT HQ and to Kathryn's car. Jamie smiled affectionately at her as they drove off. It had indeed been a long, unbelievable day and he was looking forward to unwinding with the girl he loved.

* * *

"Oh!" the Doctor exclaimed. Just moments ago, he'd been in a time zone of his future self, helping him and the Time Lords deal with Omega. He was now suddenly back in his own time, inside his own TARDIS. He gazed warily around the room and found both Jamie and Zoe, gazing at him and appearing either confused or worried. He couldn't really tell which.

"Hey, Doctor. What's the matter? Ye all right?" This Jamie seemed a year or two younger, wearing a black shirt with a lace-up throat and ties on the sleeves. He was staring at the Doctor, his brow knitted in concern.

"What? Oh … Er, how long was I gone?"

Jamie's brow seemed to knit further as he looked woefully confused. "Eh? Gone? Ye were never gone, Doctor."

"Yes, you were just talking to us and then you suddenly drifted off," Zoe added. "Staring into space as if in a fog."

The Doctor merely stared at this petite girl with the short, red and black PVC skirt and matching jacket. He suddenly recalled what the 'future' Jamie told him about her no longer being involved with them and felt a tinge of sadness.

"Ye sure yer all right, Doctor?" Jamie asked him quietly.

Gazing at Zoe one last time, he realized there was no point in worrying about any of this now. No, what was important was enjoying his time with them in the present. He felt his lips lift into broad smile. "Yes. Yes I am, Jamie."

Without a further word, he began whistling and, bending over the console, picked up his recorder and began playing. Leaving a couple of bemused companions in his wake, he began strolling out of the control room, playing his merry tune.

"Och, what's got intae him now?" he heard Jamie grumble, followed by laughter from Zoe.

Yes, in a way, it was just like old times … Even better now that he knew his companions were well and happy in his future time.

THE END

 **Author's Note:** I can't believe this story is finally over! I had fun writing it. There will be at least one more story in this series, so stay tuned. If you're a little confused about the mention of Jamie and the later version of the Doctor visiting Zoe on the Wheel, I covered that in "You Can't Go Home Again (Or Can You?)."


End file.
